The Life of Shindou Shuichi: Retrospective in Song
by A Guy Named Goo
Summary: Shindou Shuichi, after being hit by a car, is left in a coma, teetering between life and death. And his life is flashing before his eyes....as a musical. My first Gravi fic, so try to be gentle. FINAL ACT NOW UP!
1. Act 0: Prologue

Goos's Note- My first Gravi fic, and it's a little on the weird side, so take it easy on me. Basically I was sitting around, writing my original series and sulking because I hadn't been able to write a single fic for any fandom since March and even then all I wrote were two song-fics, so I figured if all I could write were song-fics then I would write the world's longest song-fic. I always give credit to the singer and song-writer at the beginning of the chapter of the songs that I use, so look out for that. Also note that if someone is OOC, they are supposed to be because most of the characters aren't actually the characters but just "actors". Read on to understand what I mean.

Dislcaimer- I don't own Gravitation, and because it's sufficiantly angsty and yaoi-full I can't say I really want to. I really wish I owned Ryuuichi, though. *Grabs and squeezes said adorable man-child with the hot-ass rock star persona until he turns purple.* And no songs just yet, but that'll be remedied soon enough.

Warning- Some spoilers down the road, especially from Episodes 6-8 and Episodes 11-13, so if you don't want to run into those then I suggest you either don't read or skip the acts where I warn I will be going over parts from later in the series.

A/N- Yes, the age to buy cigarettes and alcohol in Japan is 20. Thank you, Mars, for telling me so. (And for telling me the driving age is 18, something I was unaware of.)

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 0: Prologue

~Curtain Rises~

"I'm going out for a few minutes!" Shuichi shouted, taking his wallet out of his pocket and counting his money to make sure he had enough. The genki pink-haired singer had had a horrible craving for strawberry Pocky all day, and though he had tried his best to fight the craving (since he hadn't really wanted to walk to the store to get some more), the effort had been in vain, and now he was preparing for the sugar-craving-induced excursion.

He listened for a few moments for Yuki to say something, but naturally, he heard nothing. Or, at least, he'd expected to hear nothing.

"You going by the store?" the writer shouted from the general vacinity of his office.

"I'm going to the store," Shuichi replied, wondering why Yuki had suddenly taken an interest in his comings and goings.

"Pick me up a pack of cigarettes, would you," was all Yuki said. Though he had said it almost as a question, it was definately an order. Shuichi sighed. And he'd almost believed that Yuki was interested in what he did. That's what he got for getting his hopes up.

Shuichi walked over to the office, careful to only duck his head in so that Yuki wouldn't see that he already had his shoes on in the house. Not that Yuki would have looked up from his computer screen long enough to see that, of course, but better safe than sorry.

"I don't have enough," Shuichi told him. "If you want cigarettes, you have to pay for them yourself." Actually, that was only partially true. If Shuichi only bought two boxes of Pocky, he'd have more than enough for a pack of cigarettes. He just didn't want to buy the cigarettes himself, especially with what little money he had left. Yuki would either have to tear himself from his computer long enough to give him the money, or forget about the cigarettes all together, which he would have preffered. He hated Yuki's smoking habit, but would never dare tell him so, especially since getting him to quit would only put him in a pissier mood than he usually was.

"Didn't you get your royalty check yet?" the blonde asked him, not looking anywhere near his lover in the doorway of the office.

"No. I went to Touma's office, but he wasn't there, so I tried to call him later and he told me that I couldn't get it until next week, the bastard. He then tried to blame it on me, since Hiro and Suguru already went to pick up their's a few days ago, like I was supposed to know that he wouldn't be at his office this week-"

"Shuichi, it was a yes or no question. I didn't ask for your life story," Yuki interrupted. He then took his wallet out of his pocket and took out some money, holding it over his shoulder. "There's more than enough there. I expect to see the change."

Shuichi walked into the office and took the money. "Cheap..." he muttered, opening his wallet and putting it in with his own.

"And why are you wearing shoes in the house?"

Shuichi looked at his footwear and quickly ducked out of the office. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes! A half hour tops!" he shouted behind him as he made a hasty exit from his home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day had been oddly warm for the season, which made Shuichi glad of his decision to wear his usual shorts and T-shirt. As a bicycle whizzed by him, nearly knocking him over, he made a silent promise to use his royalities to buy a bicycle of his own. When he finally got his check, that was. Once again he cursed Seguchi Touma as he ducked into the small convenience store.

There was a small line at the counter. Because both of the items he had come to purchase were near the counter, he had to get in the back of the line and wait his turn. To prove how bad a day he was having, the first customer was an old woman who seemed to have went grocery shopping for the month in this one store and insisted on paying in the smallest incriments, counting out each one slowly. The others in line held their breath, afraid that the slightest noise would make her lose count and start over.

Finall the old woman left, and the line went significantly faster. Shuichi, however, hadn't been paying attention (he was reflecting on his bad day, which made him hungrier and his Pocky craving double, causing him to then think about the strawberry-covered breadsticks he had come to retrieve) and had missed his turn in line, so two people had cut in front of him, causing him to have to wait longer. Finally, alert this time, he approached the counter and counted his money.

"Three boxes of strawberry Pocky and a pack of Alpha cigarettes," he ordered, throwing his money on the counter.

The clerk looked at Shuichi, then the money, then back up at Shuichi. "You got any ID?"

"Excuse me?" Shuichi asked, got off guard. He'd bought Yuki cigarettes in the past and had never been asked for ID.

"Identification. You have to be 20 to buy cigarettes here, and you sure as hell don't look 20," the clerk repeated.

Fuming, Shuichi took out his wallet. Realizing he had no ID, he glared at the clerk. "Do you have any idea who I am?!"

The clerk rolled his eyes. "No. By all means, tell me."

"I am Shindou Shuichi! Of Bad Luck! And I am 19 years old, and I happen to be buying those cigarettes for Yuki Eiri, the novelist!" he clearified.

"Yeah, sure kid, whatever you say. And I'm the Emperor of Japan," the clerk muttered. Looking at the now clearly unamused Shuichi, he sighed. "Look, kid, without ID I can't sell you those cigarettes. You can have the candy, but if you are buying those cigarettes for Yuki Eiri, then he can come back and get them himself. With ID."

Shuichi was now beyond pissed. Though he didn't care if he couldn't buy cigarettes, it was a matter of principal. He'd been having a rotten day to begin with, and now this jackass refused to believe he was who he said he was, called him a kid repeatedly, and wouldn't sell him one pack of cigarettes. Even if it wasn't his fault, Yuki would be pissed if Shuichi came home without them.

He looked down at the counter. The three boxes of Pockey were there, and there was a little less money, but the cigarettes weren't there. And the next place that sold cigarettes was a vending machine at least another 15 minutes away and twice as expensive.

Taking his Pocky and mumbling, Shuichi shoved his wallet back into his pocket and left the store, walking in the direction of the cigarette vending machine. Clouds had formed while he had been inside, and the air smelled of rain.

'Perfect,' Shuichi thought bitterly. 'Not only do I have to walk an extra 15 minutes both ways to get Yuki his damn cigarettes, but I have to do it in the rain. Can this day possibly get any better?'

Just then, with a mighty clap of thunder, a steady downpour began to fall on top of Shuichi. As if by magic, every other pedestrian around him produced an umbrella. He tried his best to walk under the canopy that the umbrellas together created, but also as if by magic, the pedestrians seemed to spread apart as Shuichi passed so that he couldn't get under any of their umbrellas.

'Yuki Eiri, if you aren't off the computer and in a somewhat good mood when I get home, I swear to God I am taking my stuff and going to K's or Hiro's for the night,' Shuichi vowed silently, though he knew the threat effected him much more then it would ever effect Yuki. Chances are Yuki would take the threat to heart and act like a bastard on purpose just so that Shuichi would take off and he wouldn't have to hear him rant about his rotten day.

He finally got to where the vending machine was glowing. Unfortunately, it was across the street. Pushing the button, he waiting for the crosswalk light the turn green, signalling for the cars to stop and for him to go. After what seemed like forever, it finally turned green, and he crossed without a problem and managed to get the cigarettes without incident. (Which geniunely surprised him, since he'd expected the machine to be out of order or out of Yuki's brand, considering the day he'd been having.) Pocketing them and taking a bite out his his now soggy stick of Pocky, he waited for the light to once again turn green.

Shuichi watched the light intently, sniffling slightly. He sneezed, and whiped his nose on his vest, now regretting not wearing a shirt with long sleeves. 'Oh, great. Now I'm getting sick. My nose will get stuffy, my throat will get sore, and I won't be able to work at all. Well, maybe Yuki will take care of me.' At that thought, he almost laughed out loud.

The light turned green, and Shuichi, still sniffling, proceeded to cross the street. And he almost made it to the other side.

A blue car, not too fancy but nothing to scoff at, either, had come seemingly from no where. It swerved slightly, and didn't seem to see that it had a red light or that a pink-haired pedestrian was currently crossing the street. And if it did see these things, it certainly didn't care.

Shuichi was dimly aware of someone shouting "Look out!". He barely caught a glimpse of the headlights. And then everything went black.

At some point his eyes opened again slightly. He was still outside, in the rain. He tried to speak, but found it to be impossible, and the vision in his right eye was red and hazy, which he guessed was from blood. He could also taste blood. There were several people around him, a sea of concerned and unfamiliar faces. With what was left of his energy, he managed to mouth the words "get Yuki".

Then once again the scene faded into blackness.

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 0~


	2. Act 1: Forever Young/Teenage Wasteland

Goo's Note- This is the first actual chapter of the story, which means I am going to introduce the songs. Like I said, in Shuichi's dream everyone is just actors, not the real characters, and are therefore very OOC.

Disclaimers- I don't own Gravitaiton. Maki Murakaki, the publishers of the manga, and whoever put out the anime do. The song "Forever Young" was performed by Rod Stewart and written by Rod Stewart, J. Cregan, and K. Savigar. "Baba O'Riley (Teeange Wasteland)" was written and performed by The Who. Just a note: that second song there has an AMAZING guitar part, which was one reason why I chose it. (The lyrics were the main reason, as with every song in this fic.)

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Music

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 1: Forever Young/Teenage Wasteland

~Curtain Rises~

Only a hospital room could manage to be too quiet and too noisy at the same time. The soft beeping of the heart monitor, the whirring and clicking of the resperator the occaisonally bells and muffled voices of the call bells and public address system, and the muted typing of someone typing furiously on a laptop keyboard.

Only three people were in the hospital room: Yuki Eiri, Sakuma Ryuuichi, and Shindou Shuichi. K had been there, but he'd left to phone anyone who hadn't heard yet.

No one spoke. Yuki was typing frantically, hoping his fictional world would provide the escape he needed from the nightmare that was Shuichi on life support in front of him. It had effected him more than he thought it would when he'd recieved the call, being Shuichi's only emergency contact listed. They had told him that Shuichi was unconcious and that they couldn't gauge how much brain damage he had, if any, until he woke up. If he woke up. He'd actually gasped upon hearing that.

It wasn't until he was at the hospital when he found out what had actually happened, the details of the events having been pieced together by the bystanders: Shuichi had been seen by the whitnesses at a vending machine, purchasing cigarettes. He'd then waited at the crosswalk and crossed the street on his signal. A car then sped from around the corner and ran the red light, striking Shuichi. The car hit his legs first, but had been going at such a speed it had actually sent him tumbling over the hood and roof of the car, only to land behind it. It had almost been a hit and run, had the car not careened into a telephone pole not a kilometre away from the accident. It had been driven by a very drunk man who had already had his license revoked for driving drunk, and who was now in critical condition in ICU.

The damage was extensive. Both of his legs were broken, his right arm was horribly mangled and Yuki had overheard a doctor saying there was a possibility it would have to be amputated, his left wrist was broken, his right lung was collapsed, he had five broken ribs (one of which had punctured his left lung), he'd sprained his neck, and he'd slipped four vertibrae in his lower back that could result in permenant damage. He'd spent most of the day in surgery, both exploratory and corrective. When Yuki had asked the doctor if Shuichi would make it, the doctor had only told him that he'd seen people who'd been in worse shape and survived, and that it all depended on whether Shuichi woke up or not. Though stable, the doctors had stopped referring to him as being unconcious and officially stated that he was in a coma. Now, deep in his sleep, he was on life support and in traction. Even if he did wake up, he would have a lot of painful rehabilitation in front of him.

It was incredibly heartbreaking to see the usually genki and overemotional boy so broken and silent now, and though Yuki would never say it out loud, he was worried sick. As long as he hid behind his computer and kept working no matter what happened, he was the Yuki Eiri everyone knew and expected to see. If he showed his compassion then he would probably be admitted and checked for brain damage himself.

Yuki quickly looked up at Ryuuichi, who was huddled in a chair in the corner, clutching Kumagorou close to him, fast asleep. Yuki's first instinct had been to call Touma, but just as Shuichi had said, he was away. At his home there had been no answer except from his answering machine, and at his office his secretary had explained that he had left for the week to go to Los Angeles on buisness, and he had taken Mika with him, though on Yuki's insistance that there was a major emergency that required the immediate attention of NG's president the secretary had promised to try her best to get a hold of him. Not sure who else to call, he'd dialed the number of the cell phone of Bad Luck's manager and explained the situation. Because K had had Ryuuichi with him at the time, the permenant man-child that was the former Nittle Grasper lead singer had accompanied him. This had proven to be a mistake in itself, because as soon as Ryuuichi saw Shuichi hooked up to so many machines it had proven to be too much for his fragile psyche, and he'd broken down into tears and sobbed continuiously on his beloved stuffed rabbit until he fell asleep.

The door opened and closed. Yuki didn't look up. If he looked up, he would seem interested, and the truth was he didn't want to speak to anyone right then. The other, whoever it was, didn't seem to want to speak, either. A few moments passed in complete silence.

"This is your fault isn't it, you bastard?" the voice of the one who had entered snarled. Yuki barely glanced up from his computer long enough to see the rage-filled face of Nakano Hiroshi. He looked down and kept typing.

"Sure, go ahead, ignore everything's that happening!" Hiro continued. "Just keep on working. Of course it doesn't matter that Shuichi could die as long as Yuki Eiri can keep on writing is little love stories! Everything's just peachy in Yuki-land, isn't it?!"

Yuki threw a glance at Ryuuichi. The only sign that the other man was alive at all was he twitched slightly in his sleep. Sighing, he saved his writing, preparing for Hiro to do something like take his computer away or throw it in his rage.

"And I bet this was your fault! I bet you were being a heartless bastard again and he ran crying into the streets again and then this happened! Is that happened, Yuki Eiri?! Dammit, answer me!"

"Kind of hard to answer you if you don't shut up," was Yuki's retort. He saw Hiro's hand curl into a fist. He could have sworn he also heard him grit his teeth. "If you must know, he left the house in a fairly good mood, as far as I can tell. He had to go to the store for something. The most I did was I told him to pick up a pack of cigarettes for me. I even gave him the money for them. He didn't run in front of the car. I don't think he's stupid enough to pull that stunt twice. He was walking on the crosswalk, obeying the traffic signal, and a drunk driver struck him. I was not involved in any way." In actuallity, he was consumed with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. If he had not ordered Shuichi to get cigarettes for him- an errand he knew Shuichi absolutely loathed- he wouldn't have been at that particular crosswalk and he wouldn't have gotten hit. But he wasn't going to tell Hiro that. He was doing a fine enough job of beating himself up without Hiro aiding him in the process.

"So you are going to keep your head burried in that laptop?!" Hiro shouted. "I thought even you had more compassion than that! Your boyfriend is nearly killed and you work! You really are a heartless bastard!"

Yuki saved his writing again and closed his laptop, setting it on the bedside table and leaning back in the chair, crossing his legs. He really needed a cigarette then, but that was the least of his concerns.

"What about him?" he asked, gesturing to the corner were Ryuuichi was sleeping his a jerk of his head. "Why don't you wake him up and tell him that he's being a heartless bastard because he's not keeping a twenty-four hour vigil? Then when you do, you can sit back and listen to him sob for four hours straight like I had to. Why don't you try to call everyone you know to tell them that he might die? Then, when you're done, you can sit in here for 12 hours waiting to see if he comes out of surgery alive, and then listen to his life support beeping and whirring for hours on end. Yes, Nakano Hiroshi, I am a heartless bastard who doesn't care at all. I did all that precisely because I don't care. Forgive me for getting sick of sitting in here with only the sound of machines for company and deciding to do a little work to keep me from going absolutely insane."

Hiro was staring at Ryuuichi in the corner. He seemed geniunely surprised to see him sitting there. Before Hiro could say anything, the door opened again. K walked in with a cup of coffee and took the empty seat next to Ryuuichi.

"Took you long enough," Yuki snorted.

"Sorry. I had to go home to get some...things in order. Plus Sakano needed a ride. He nearly had a heart attack when I told him, but can you expect any less from him? Anyway, he's downstairs now getting checked out because he fainted twice and won't stop hyperventaliting. I think this could be the one that does him in. Oh, and Suguru's here, too. He's waiting to see if Sakano is going to snap out of this one." He stopped to take a sip of his coffee. "Oh, and I got a hold of Touma. He has a number in case of emergencies. Gave it to all of the members of Nittle Grasper. I found it in Ryuuichi's address book. He was in the middle of a meeting, but he said he'd get on a plane and head back as soon as it was over. Kept asking me if Shuichi was all right and if he would be able to work again any time soon. I couldn't tell if he was worried about Shuichi, the lost revenue of him being here, or something else." K glanced at Yuki then, something that Hiro didn't pick up on. "So, anyway, what do we do now?"

"Exactly what we have been doing," Yuki sighed. "We wait."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi looked around. The room was dim, but large. It appeared to be a theatre of some kind, but all of the plush red seats were empty. He looked up at the stage. A screen lowered, and with a flicker a silent film began. A familiar image started it: a pink-haired baby, about a year old. Shuichi paused and watched the film some more. Seamlessly, the film moved to a scene of him, about 3 years old, with his sister.

Swallowing, he began to walk toward the screen. He looked at the seats again. In the front row, on his left, was an aisle seat. The entire row was empty, except for a card resting in that one seat. It was white, and in gold lettering it read "Seat Reserved for Shindou Shuichi". Hestitantly, Shuichi sat down in the seat, lifting up the card. He was about to put it on the floor when it suddenly vanished.

A great whooshing sound filled the theatre. Looking behind him, the theatre was suddenly packed with people. Not just any people, Shuichi quickly realized. People he knew. Childhood and adulthood friends, teachers, classmates, employers, family members, casual acquainences, and one row that at first he didn't recognize, but he then realized were the people who had been surrounding him when he got hit. He looked in the row next to him. Sitting along the line were more important people. Next to him was K, then Touma, then Mika, then Yuki, then Hiro, the Suguru, then Sakano, then, at the very end, he realized with a sudden, overwhelming feeling of dread, was Aizawa. He wondered where Ryuuichi was.

On the screen were scenes of him at age 6. Music began to play, softly at first, but then it began to get louder. A familiar voice began to sing then.

"May the Good Lord be with you/Down every road you roam/And may sunshine and happiness/Surround you when you're far from home," Ryuuichi's voice sang. Once again Shuichi scanned the room for him, but couldn't find him. Only his voice.

"And may you grow to be proud/Dignified and true/And do unto others/As you'd have done to you," Ryuuichi's voice continued.

"Wh-what is this?" Shuichi suddenly gasped. Everyone in the row he was sitting in suddenly leaned forward to stare at him, causing him to lean back further in his seat.

The song continued, being played by an invisable band and sung by the invisable Ryuuichi. "Be courageous and be brave/And in my heart you'll always stay/Forever young, forever young/Forever young, forever young...."

Suddenly, Touma smiled wamly at Shuichi. "Good. You made it. And just in time. The show is about to start."

"The...show?"

"Of course," Mika confirmed. "You should know. You're the star."

"What show?!" Shuichi cried out.

The song continued to play. "May good fortune be with you/May your guiding light be strong/Build a stairway to heaven/With a prince or vegabond..."

"Your show," Hiro told him.

"You died," K continued.

"Actually, you didn't really die. Not yet, anyway," Yuki corrected.

Suguru leaned forward. "There's been a mistake. You shouldn't have died yet."

"So now we are here to reinact your life," Sakano picked up.

"And when we are done, you get to choose whether you continue your life or not," Aizawa concluded.

"B-But of course I want to live!" Shuichi cried. "Why are you all doing this?"

Ryuuichi's voice was still singing. On the screen Shuichi was now 12. "And may you never love in vain/And in my heart you will remain/Forever young, forever young/Forever young, forever young/Forever young/Forever young...."

"Are you so sure, Shuichi?" Touma asked.

"Think really hard about your life," Yuki instructed.

"Has it really been all that great? Do you want to return to it?" Suguru asked him.

"We are using a medium that has meant much to your life to retell it, and hopefully things will be put in perspective," Mika continued.

"And when you finally fly away/I'll be hoping that I served you well/For all the wisdom of a lifetime/No one can ever tell..." Ryuuchi continued. In the film Shuichi was now about 15.

"But why are you guys here if I'm dead?" Shuichi asked nervously, his voice suddenly very small.

"We aren't actually the people you know," Touma explained. "We are actors portraying them in the show."

"Obviously, if we are going to reinact your life, we have to be in the costumes of the players in your real life," Hiro continued.

"So what are you really, then, if you're not people?" Shuichi pressed, not liking this one bit.

"Actors," they all said in unison.

"But whatever road you choose/I'm right behind you, win or lose/Forever young, forever young/Forever young, forever young/Forever young, forever young/For, Forever young, Forever young...." Ryuuichi's voice faded, and the music abruptly ended, as did the film. Shuichi, in the film was about 17, just about the walk on stage before the first live perfomance of his life when the film suddenly stopped. The lights began to turn on, and everyone began to stand up and walk back stage.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Shuichi cried, leaping to his face.

K turned back and looked at Shuichi, smiling. "Same place you're going. On stage."

"B-but why?!" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Because you're the star of the show," Mika repeated.

"And the first act is about to begin," Ryuuchi's voice announced as a spotlight shown on him from his place next to the screen. The curtain fell suddenly, and Shuichi had a very bad feeling about what that could symbolise...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Four days.

Shuichi had been in a coma for four days.

The doctors had assured everyone that as long as there was some brain activity then there was still hope, but everyone present was still worried.

Touma had showed up (along with Mika) the morning after the accident. He had demanded to know the details of both the accident and the singer's condition. When he found out the man who had hit Shuichi was in the same hospital, he had suddenly gone quiet. Everyone knew that usually meant he was quietly seething, plotting his revenge. It was something Aizawa could certainly attest to.

Ryuuichi was finally able to contain his grief without the aide of sedatives, unlike the first two days, but he still had a death grip on Kumagorou. Yuki still worked most of the time, occaisonally slipping out for a cigarette or to get some food or something to drink. The others usually took turns leaving the hospital to get take-out for everyone, since they couldn't stomach hospital food. They wondered how Yuki could, but decided that years of chain-smoking and casual drinking had dulled his tastebuds. That, or he simply didn't care.

Yuki wasn't the only one working out of the hospital room. Touma had ordered all calls be re-routed to his cell phone so that he could keep working, and often went into the hall to take calls. So far he had also conducted two meeting on speaker-phone from inside the hospital. A few times the doctors had told him not to use his phone inside the hospital, but Touma didn't listen. He was the president of NG Records, after all, a very powerful man who had someone with a magnum he wasn't afraid to use working for him and sitting right behind the door.

After yet another hour of awkward silence passed, Touma returned to the room, having finished yet another call. He was holding a cup of coffee as he took his seat between Yuki and Mika, which was, unbeknounst to the others in the room, a very awkward place for him.

"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Ryuuichi said quietly at last. Everyone glanced over at him, waiting for him to repeat himself, but he didn't.

"What do you mean by that?" K asked at last.

"Well, you can't be asleep for this long without dreaming about something," Ryuuichi clearified. Though outloud he only referred to Shuichi's condition as "sleeping" and, the few times he did talk about it, and seemed to be treating it childishly, everyone present knew that he understood the full magnitude of the situation at hand, and that regressing more and pretending he didn't helped him to cope with it.

"I guess we won't know until he wakes up," Hiro said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence passed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The stage, as if by magic, changed from a movie screen to a strangely familiar set-up and place. Shuichi quickly realized it was where he had performed for the first time in his life on stage two years ago, at a Battle of Bands.

"This is where Hiro and I first performed as Bad Luck," Shuichi said out loud. He turned around and saw that the actor Hiro was wearing the same outfit the real Hiro had been that night. Looking down at his own clothes, he saw they had also changed to what he had been wearing that night. "We didn't win, but that night we met Sakano. He said that he worked for NG Records and that they were looking for new talent. He's the one that convinced Seguchi Touma to sign us in the first place. Even after we almost gave him a heart attack on several occasions he still thought we had potential and kept trying to show us to Touma. Bad Luck wouldn't be where it is today if it hadn't been for that first concert...."

Hiro nodded. "It's almost time for the curtain to rise. Remember that the music fits the scene, but isn't from the scene. Just let to words come to you naturally."

Wondering what Hiro meant by that, Shuichi took his place at the mic stand and picked up the mic. Hiro picked up his guitar, and suddenly the curtain raised. The audience couldn't be seen, but he heard the same clapping that he had heard at that concert.

Suddenly, a synthesizer began to play, and Hiro played a guitar rift that seemed at the same time to be completely unknown to him yet already etched into his mind.

Finally, Shuichi knew he was at his cue to sing. Unfamiliar came to his mind and then out of his mouth.

"Out here in the fields/I fight for my meals/I get my back into my living/I don't need to fight/To prove I'm right/I don't need to be forgiven..." Shuichi sang passionately.

A guitar solo began, and Shuichi was suddenly overcome with an excited, joyful feeling. Finally, the instrumentals ended and he sang into the microphone again.

"Don't cry/Don't raise your eye/It's only teenage wasteland!" he sang. He quickly realized the feeling he was experiencing was the same feeling he had had that night. He sang not because it was profitable or because of the fame. He sang for the joy of singing back then.

"Sally ,take my hand/Travel south crossland/Put out the fire/Don't look past my shoulder/The exodus is here/The happy ones are near/Let's get together/Before we get much older," he sang, and as the words sank in he began to realize what actor Hiro's cryptic words had meant. The song was, indeed, about the situation he had been living in before the concert changed everything.

"Teenage wasteland/It's only teenage wasteland/Teenage wasteland/Oh, oh/Teenage wasteland/They're all wasted!" Shuichi finished. Hiro finished the guitar solo, and the crowd was cheering, just like that night. Just as suddenly as the curtain had raised, it fell, just like instead of being lowered manually someone had just untied the rop and let it drop to the floor.

"The first act is over," Hiro said, putting the guitar on the stage. I promptly disappeared, and Shuichi realized his mic stand was gone, too.

"That was great!" he exclaimed. "That felt-"

"Just like that night?" Hiro finished. "We don't just recreate the scenes of your life, Shuichi, we recreate the feelings that came with them. Otherwise you won't understand the impact of the event. It's through the songs that we tell the story, but it's through your own feelings that you absorb what those things meant. Still mean."

"And now," Touma said, stepping forward. "It's time for the second act."

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 1~


	3. Act 2: Everything Louder Than Everything...

Goo's Note- This is the first act that follows what happens in the show, but since it's only about the first episode (no, there isn't an act for each episode) there shouldn't be any spoilers. If you don't know what happens in the first episode, then I think you are reading fanfiction from the wrong section.

Disclaimer- Gravitation belongs to everyone I listed already. "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" was written by Jim Steinman (who is a song-writing GOD and I use about 4 songs written by him in the course of this fic) and sung by Meat Loaf (who is a singing GOD. I am trying to score tickets to his concert in Augusta next month). "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)" was written by Tommy Shaw and performed by Styx.

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 2: Everything Louder Than Everything Else/Fooling Yourself

~Curtain Rises~

It had been exactly seven days since Shuichi had entered his coma.

All that week people had been coming in and out. It was impossible for them to stay all the time, though everyone who left was obviously quite torn: if they left, they stood a chance of not being there when Shuichi finally woke up, but if they stayed, then they would have to put their lives on hold, and since they had no way of knowing when or if Shuichi would wake up they had no way of knowing when they could resume their lives. Though everyone left at night (except for Ryuuichi, who slept in a chair, and Yuki, who worked most of the night and slept in the extra bed, mostly because of the overwhelming feeling of guilt he had and not wanting Shuichi to wake up thinking he didn't care) they obviously felt guilty about it.

Touma had been the first to leave for an extended period of time. His cell-phone had finally died, and because he would have had to drive home to recharge it, anyway, he figured it would be easier to attend the meeting in person. Mika had left with him, though she'd come back on her own a little while later, much to Yuki's surprise.

K was the next to leave. He'd tried to convince Ryuuichi to come with him, since sleeping in a chair had caused him to have a stiff neck and a backache and he needed to lay down somewhere, but Ryuuichi refused, holding Kumagorou against his chest, his chin resting between the toy rabbit's ears, staring at Shuichi and looking for the slightest bit of movement.

Sakano was the next one to leave, having been paged by Touma. It seemed that he was needed at a meeting to discuss how Shuichi's accident would impact Bad Luck and it's future concert ticket and record sales, being their producer and all. Suguru had left with him as a representative from the band itself, knowing that Hiro probably didn't want to leave his best friend.

Finally, four days after returning, Mika left again, saying that she had some things she needed to discuss with Touma alone. Only Hiro spent all day in hospital room with Yuki and Ryuuichi, Ryuuichi just staring quietly and Yuki typing away and occasionally leaving the room. His rage hadn't subsided any, since he was sure that somehow Yuki had caused the accident and the fact that he still refused to show any emotion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"It's time for the second act," Touma announced. As if on cue, the stage morphed into three seperate sections: one was the recording studio of NG Records, one was Touma's office, and one was the park where Shuichi had first met Hiro.

Touma walked over to the set of his office and sat down at the desk, Sakano and Hiro standing in the recording studio, and Yuki sitting on a bench in the park set. Shuichi instinctively stood in front of all three sets, near the end of the stage. 

Just as Shuichi took his place, the curtain flew up. Once again, the audience was shadowed so that Shuichi wasn't even sure there was an audience, but the theatre filled with applause. Words began to fill his mind, and he turned and walked over to the recording studio set.

"NG Records was the first record company that ever signed me," Shuichi explained, as if to the audience. "Right after the concert where we were discovered. Unfortunately, we had some trouble with deadlines and material in those early days, and as a result we didn't actually cut a record at first..."

Letting his monologue trail off, he turned to face the actors that were portraying Hiro and Sakano.

"I don't have the song done," he announced, surprised at how fake the line sounded. If he had to portray himself in a play about his life, then the higher powers could have at least made him a decent actor.

Unfortunately, the higher powers didn't find it neccessary to give the other actors any talent, either....

"What do you mean, you don't have it done?!" the Sakano actor cried, though not with nearly the emotion that the real Sakano had displayed. "How are you supposed to get famous if you can't even finish one song?!"

"But it isn't about fame," the Hiro actor told him, his tone just as static as the Sakano actor's. "We aren't doing this for money, fame, or power."

Suddenly, the actors moved into the set of Touma's office, standing in front of the desk where Touma was sitting.

"I heard you haven't finished your song," the Touma actor said. He was a bit better than the other actors, but not much. "I can't sign you unless you can show me a finished product. You have to maintain deadlines if you want to keep your fans happy and your record sales up."

"But we aren't in it for the power, or the wealth, or the glory!" Shuichi cried, surprised when a guitar started to play. Suddenly, the rest of the band joined in, along with back-up singers.

"I know that I will never be politically correct," Shuichi found himself singing. "And I dont give a damn about my lack of etiquette!" he sang out, pounding on the desk. He suddenly jumped up onto it. "As far as I'm concerned the world could still be flat/And if the thrill is gone, then it's time to take it back/If the thrill is gone, then it's time to take it back!"

Hiro stepped forward next. "Who am I and why am I here?" he sang, the background singers joining him. "Forget the questions, someone get me another beer!/What's the meaning of life, what's the meaning of it all?/You've got to learn to dance before you learn to crawl/You've got to learn to dance before you learn to crawl!"

Suddenly, Touma stood up and stepped forward, holding out a clipboard. "So sign up all, you're all recruits," he sang. He threw the clipboard and suddenly yanked off his tie and threw it. "Throw away those designer suits/You've got your weapons cocked, your targets in your sights."

Shuichi jumped off the desk and into the desk chair. "There's a party raging somewhere in the world," he sang. He pushed himself off with his desk and rolled across the stage toward the door of the set of the recording studio, grabbing someone's hand. He pulled, and suddenly a girl came tumbling onto the stage. "You've go serve your country, gotta service your girl." He then pushed the girl back through the door and stood up. "You're all enlisted in the armies of the night!"

He then walked over to Touma, singing the entire time. "And I ain't in it for the power/And I ain't in it for my health." He got right in Touma's face (something he'd never actually do in real life) and continued the verse. "I ain't in it for the glort of anything at all, and I sure ain't in it for the wealth!"

Suddenly, Hiro grabbed Touma, spun him around, and started singing in his face, causing him to take a step back in perfect sync with Hiro's steps forward. "But I'm in it till it's over, and I just can't stop/If you wanna get it done, you gotta do it yourself!"

"And I like my music like I like my life!" Shuichi added.

Suddenly, grabbing Touma and Hiro grabbing Sakano, all four began to sing loudly in each other's faces.

"Everything louder than everything else!/Everything louder than everything else!/Everything louder than...everything else!" They turned their faces on each other, Shuichi heading toward Hiro and Touma and Sakano heading off stage. "Everything louder than everything else!/Everything louder than everything else!/Everything louder than-"

Shuichi suddenly lept forward and skidded on his knees to the front of the stage and sang alone. "Everything else!"

Suddenly, the music slowed slightly, and the lights on the stage shut off, leaving a single spotlight on Shuichi, who was still on his knees. He suddenly produced a microphone from no where as he continued to sing.

"They've got a file on me, and it's a mile long/And they say that they've got all of the proof/That I'm just another case of arrested development/And I'm just another wasted youth..."

He got to his face, and Hiro began to sing with him, coming out of nowhere and singing into the same microphone. "They say that I'm in need of some radical discipline/They say I've got to face the truth/That I'm just another case of arrested development/And I'm just another wasted youth..."

Suddenly the lights came on, and the microphones were gone.

Touma was sitting in the chair, and with a kick against the wall he went flying back to his desk, singing. "They say I'm wild and I'm reckless/I should be acting my age..."

Shuichi walked over to the desk and sat on top of it, continuing the verse. "I'm an impressionable child in a tumultuous world/And they say I'm at a difficult stage..."

Sakano walked over to the desk and leaned against the side. "But it seems to me to contrary..."

Hiro jumped on top of the desk and stood up behind Shuichi. "Of all the crap they're gonna put on the page...."

All four, in their places, began to chant the next part together. "That a wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age!/A wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age/A wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age!/A wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age/A wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age!/A wasted youth is better by far/Then a wise and productive old age..."

As the music began to rise, Touma stood from his chair and push it across the set, Shuichi slid off of the desk, Hiro jump from it, and Sakano stood up straight, all four standing in a line.

Sakano sang first. "If you want my views of history, then there's something you should know-"

Then Shuichi. "The three men I admire most are Curly, Larry, Moe-"

Then Touma. "Don't worry about the future, soon or later it's the past-"

Then Hiro. "If the thrill is gone, then it's time to take it back-"

Then finally all four. "If the thrill is gone, then it's time to take it back!"

Touma walked back over to the chair and sat back down in it, pushing himself almost to the end of the stage. "So sign up all your raw recruits!" He took off his jacket and threw it into the audience. "Throw away all your stupid suits/You've got your weapons cocked, your targets in your sights!" He threw his chair off the stage.

"There's a party raging somewhere in the world." Hiro reached over to the recording studio set and pulled Ayaka from no where. "Gotta serve your country, gotta service your girl!" With a spin, she disappeared from the set. "You're all inducted in the armies of the night..."

Shuichi picked pulled out the drawer of the desk and began to pull items out as he sang. "And I ain't in it for the power-" he took out a stress ball that looked like the Earth, squeezed it, and then threw it off stage. "And I ain't in it for my health-" He took out a stethoscope, put it on, pretended to listen to his heart, then took it off and threw that, too. "I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all-" He took out a stack of glamour shots of himself and then threw those. "And I sure ain't in it for the wealth." He took out too large handfuls of money and threw those, too. "But I'm in it till it's over and I just can't stop/If you wanna get done, you gotta fight for yourself!" He took out a pair of boxing gloves and threw those. "And I like my music like I like my life!" He took out a CD and a picture of himself in a frame, then threw both and stood up on the desk, kicking the drawer off, and started singing. "Everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else..."

Hiro walked up and sat on the front edge of the desk, joining him. "Everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else..."

Touma and Sakano each sat on the other two sides of the desk and joined in. "Everything louder than everything else, everything louder than-"

Shuichi jumped off the desk and stood in front of it, finishing the line alone. "Everything else!"

Touma, Hiro, and Sakano came up behind Shuichi, then stood to either side of him in singing. "Everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else, everything louder than-"

Shuichi skidded on his knees to the front of the stage. "Everything else!"

Still singing, the others walked up and helped him to his feet. "Everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else, everything louder than everything else, everything louder than anything else..."

The music faded, and the actors' voices did accordingly. The theatre filled with applause again. Before Shuichi could get his bearings straight from that outburst, the set began to spin, and Touma, Hiro, and Sakano were gone. Now the park scene was in the center, and Yuki was the only other person on stage with him...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was the middle of the night. Yuki had started to doze off when he heard it. The usually familiar beeping of the heart monitor became a dull tone, causing him to open his eyes wide. He looked at the monitor, which was flatlining, and fumbled for the call button. Ryuuichi had also woke up, and was sitting stock still, eyes wide as Yuki frantically pushed the button. Giving up, he dropped it and stuck his head out the door.

"We need a doctor!" he shouted. "His heart stopped beating!"

Though it only took a few seconds for the doctors to rush in and shuffle Yuki and Ryuuichi out of the room, it had seemed like forever. As soon as the door slammed, Ryuuichi collapsed into tears, leaning against Yuki, the only person convenient. Ordinarilly Yuki would have just pushed him off, but he was too stunned to.

This was it. Shuichi was going to die.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi walked up to the actor of Yuki, who was smoking a cigarette. He held up a familiar piece of paper.

"Zero talent," he said in a flat tone that, even with the bad acting, sounded like Yuki's tone.

Angry and hurt, Shuichi turned his back on the Yuki actor and faced the audience. "That's when I first met Yuki Eiri. I felt so angry at hearing him say that, but I couldn't say anything. He was just so damn cool looking and sounded so damn confident I just couldn't. That's when I became obsessed with him."

He turned and looked at the Yuki actor. "Plus I knew there had to be something else there. You weren't just critisizing my sucky lyrics. No, you had some personal issues. You were just an angry young man."

On cue, synthesized music began, and Shuichi found himself pushing the actor Yuki back onto the bench.

As the rest of the band began to play, Shuichi found himself compelled to sing once again.

"You see the world through your cynical eyes/You're a troubled young man, I can tell/You've got it all in the palm of your hand-" He grabbed Yuki's hand. "But your hand's wet with sweat/And your head needs a rest." He dropped Yuki's hand.

He grabbed onto the street light and swung around it. "And you're fooling yourself/If you don't believe it-" He let go of the telephone pole and pushed over the trashcan. "You're kidding yourself/If you don't believe it!"

He jumped up onto the back of the bench as the Yuki actor spun around to look at him and his balancing act. "Why must you be such an angry young man/When you're future looks quite bright to me-" He found himself holding a flashlight, which he flashed in the gold eyes of the actor, then he threw it and landed so that he was standing next to where Yuki was sittng. "And how can there be such a sinister plan/That can hide such a lamb/Such a caring young man."

He dropped down onto the ground again and walked over to the tipped-over trash can. "And you're fooling yourself/If you don't believe it-" He suddenly pushed the trashcan off stage. "You're killing yourself if you don't believe it."

He walked over to Yuki and grabbed his hand. "Get up, get up, get back on your feet!" he sang, pulling him up. "You're the one they can't beat/And you know it." Taking back the paper with his lyrics, he waved them tauntingly in front of Yuki's face. "Come on, come on, let's see what you got/Just take your best shot and don't blow it, oh!"

He threw the paper over his shoulder. "And you're fooling yourself/If you don't believe it/You're killing yourself/If you don't believe it!"

Shuichi jumped up onto the bench behind Yuki and put his hands on his shoulders. "Get up, get up, get back on your feet/You're the one they can't beat/And you know it!" He let go and jumped over the back of the bench, walking back over to Yuki and pushing him slightly. "Come on, come on, let's see what you go/Just take your best shot and don't blow it, oh!"

The music began to fade, as did the lights. As soon as the music stopped, the Yuki actor dropped his cigarette and stepped on it. "Baka..." he whispered.

And with that, the audience began their applause again as the curtain dropped with a thud and the sets all disappeared.

The Yuki actor looked Shuichi in the face. "Are you ready for the third act?"

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 2~


	4. Act 3: All Eyes On Me/Total Eclipse of t...

Goo's Note- To get part of this chapter, you have to understand that Yuki and Touma were MUCH closer in the manga than in the anime. Outwardly, it's set up so that it looks like Touma is trying to be an older brother figure for Yuki, but what is supposed to be just under the surface is that Touma feels something deeper for Yuki, and it's even said in the manga that it's rumored Touma married Mika to get to Yuki. (Also, Touma harbors some resentment toward Shuichi because of this, and he gets seriously pissed when he finds out Yuki told him about New York since he thought he was the only other person who knew. He also got ticked when he found out Shuichi had discovered Yuki's ears were ticklish, since not even he knew that.) Also, I am covering events from episodes two and four in this one. (Nothing happened in three except Suguru joined the band and Yuki said something almost encouraging to Shuichi.) And one last thing: I am NOT trying to imply something between K and Ryuuichi (though the thought is rather appealing...). The reason why K is in charge of taking Ryuuichi to and from the hospital in this fic is because he used to be his manager and is obviously someone he can trust in a time of crisis.

Disclaimer- Gravitation, once again, isn't mine. The songs this time are "All Eyes On Me", which was written by John Rzeznik and performed by the Goo Goo Dolls and "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which was written by Jim Steinman (there's that name again...) and performed by Bonnie Tyler. Also, I am using the short version of the latter song. That's the radio edit that cut off singing the chorus one last time, but all the important lyrics are still there. I'd be stretching myself to write the long version.

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 3: All Eyes On Me/Total Eclipse of the Heart

~Curtain Rises~

It had been three days since the "cardiac episode", as the doctors put it. This also meant that Shuichi had been in a coma for ten days now. He'd been moved to a new room since then, at the very end of the hall, because of the large group of people that could sometimes get quite noisy (mostly Hiro, stomping in in a bad mood, yelling at Yuki once again), and because they needed a big room to accomidate all of the flowers and gifts that had been pouring in. Yuki guessed Touma had finally sent out a press release about Shuichi's condition and where he was staying.

Yuki saved his novel. It was finished now. All he had to do was go home and print it, then send it to the publisher. Of course, to do that he had to leave, something he didn't want to do. Maybe he could trust Touma to do it....

Just as he was setting his laptop on the area of a table carefully kept free for such a purpose, the door opened. In walked Hiro, Suguru, Sakano, and K obviously just coming back from something to do with Bad Luck. K had two cups of coffee, and he thrusted one into Yuki's hand as he sat down next to him. Ryuuichi was asleep in the empty bed that Yuki usually used this time.

"He still not up?" K asked, looking at the lump under the covers. The blanket had been pulled up to the man's chin, and all that was visable of him was some unwashed, unkempt, brown-green hair and a bit of the top of a pair of pink rabbit ears.

"He was for a while," Yuki answered as Suguru and Hiro sat down on the other side of the room. "His neck and back have been getting really bad. He couldn't even stand up straight to walk to the bathroom. I think he forgot he was 31 and couldn't sleep anywhere he wanted without paying for it."

"So he laid down?"

"Not by choice. He was crying again. I called the doctor and asked for an aspirin, and when he saw how much pain he was in and that he wouldn't stop crying he gave him a Tylonol 3."

"Codeine..."

"Right. He didn't even last ten minutes."

The room was quiet again. Finally, Hiro stood up and stretched, before reaching into his pocket and crossing the room to hand Yuki a piece of paper. This was the most cival thing Hiro had done to him since Shuichi had been brought to the hospital.

"What is it?" Yuki asked, unfolding it.

"Touma-san's latest scheme," Suguru answered, sensing that anything Hiro said wouldn't be exactly friendly.

"The press release," Sakano further clearified.

Yuki picked up his glasses from next to his laptop and put them on, reading the paper. "He named the hospital. That explains the sudden outpouring of cards, flowers, and gifts..."

"Keep reading," K urged, obviously having read it himself.

Yuki did so. As soon as finished, he took off his glasses and put them down, along with the paper. "He named the man who hit Shuichi."

"And said where he lives and that he's in this hospital," Suguru confirmed.

"If the man doesn't get so much hate mail that he kills himself, then the fans will do the job for him," Yuki continued, fixing his gold gaze at the cieling and trying to keep a smile from creeping to his lips.

"That was the idea," K said with a nod.

"There's already been two letter bombs found addressed to him," Hiro continued. "And the overwhelming amount of letters and other suspicious-looking packages has forced the post office to hold all of his mail and elect a special task force to sort through it."

The tiniest hint of a smile quirked on Yuki's lips. "That does sound like something Touma would do..."

"Well, look at what he did to Aizawa," Hiro muttered. "I guess there's only so many times you can commit assault with a deadly weapon and get away with it before people see a pattern. At least this way no one can pin anything on him."

Yuki nodded and sipped his coffee, standing and turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Suguru asked.

"Outside. To smoke. I'll be back in a few minutes."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi stood in the center of the stage. Though he wanted to move, something in his mind told him to stay there as the actor Yuki walked away. As soon as he disappeared into the forboding blackness of the wings, two figures stepped forward: Ryuuichi and Hiro. Looking down, Shuichi saw that his clothes had changed once again, this time to those of the concert where they were the warm-up band for ASK.

The Hiro actor walked over to his place, picking up a guitar that had suddenly appeared there. Looking next to him, the Ryuuichi actor smiled slightly, his eyes hidden beneath the bill of his ball cap.

"Know your lines?" Ryuuichi asked.

Shuichi almost said no, but found himself nodding instead. A microphone had appeared in front of him, and the Ryuuichi actor stepped back until he disappeared into the darkness at the back of the stage.

Suddenly, the curtain flew up. The audience was visable again, only this time, instead of the people he knew sitting in the plush red seats were the nameless fans from that first concert. All of them were screaming for ASK, just as they had that first time. And also, just like what had happened that first time, Shuichi could see Yuki in back. Or, to be accurate, the Yuki actor. Fear gripped him again, and he froze for what had to have been a solid minute.

Suddenly, Ryuuichi's voice broke through the crowd, just as it had the first time, singing the song. Only this time, instead of listening vacantly as he had the first time, lines popped into Shuichi's head.

"This was supposed to be my big break," he said into the microphone. "But I froze. He wasn't supposed to be here. He said that he didn't want to come and that he wouldn't. When I saw him, I couldn't help my. All of the words disappeared, and everything faded. I couldn't remember where I was or what I was supposed to do."

The Ryuuichi actor stepped up onto the stage and stood next to Shuichi, still singing.

"This was also the first time I met my idol, Sakuma Ryuuichi," Shuichi continued. "He saved me that night. Later, people would tell me that it was because he saw himself in me, which made me feel better than they could ever know. Knowing that someone as great as him had saved me and my career when he didn't have to suddenly made me forget what had caused me to freeze. And that was when I sang. With him by my side. And with him in the audience."

The music started too play, and the entire audience was once again darkened so that Shuichi couldn't see them. Only one light, a spotlight, remained fixed on one figure: the actor portraying Yuki. Focusing on him, Shuichi let the words flow out of his mouth.

"Daylight burns your sleepy eyes and/It's hard to see you dreaming/You hide inside yourself and/I wonder what you're thinking/And everything your chasing/It seems to leave you empty," Shuichi sang, looking down at the floor to keep from meeting the eyes of the Yuki actor. Even if it wasn't really him, he still had the same feelings around him. 

Suddenly, Ryuuichi joined him at the same microphone for the chorus of the song. Looking up, he met the eyes of the actor portraying his idol and couldn't help but smile.

"And it won't take long to burn/All eyes on me!/Through the nothing that you've learned/All eyes on me!/And the things you choose to be/All eyes on me..."

Shuichi took a step closer to the edge of the stage, first looking at the floor, then at the cieling. He noticed he was singing alone again. "And you just look away!" He glared at the Yuki actor. "It's so hard to be someone/Strung out from today!" He held out his hand, clenching it into a fist. "And don't let your you slip away!"

The music slowed again, and Shuichi found himself walking back to the microphone, staring at the floor and singing. "You drown in deeper oceans/Inventing new religions..." he pushed his hair from his eyes. "They smile and stab my back and/I lie and have to laugh."

Ryuuichi took the microphone from his hand and sang the next part. "And it won't take long to burn!"

He pointed the microphone to Shuichi as he sang "All eyes on me!"

"Through the nothing that you've learned!" Ryuuichi sang.

"All eyes on me!" Shuichi sang out.

"And the things you choose to be!" Ryuuichi finished.

"All eyes on me!" they sang together.

Shuichi walked to the edge of the stage again as the Yuki actor turned around. "They just look away!" He fell to his knees, as if hurt, and stared at the stage. "It's so hard to be someone/Strung from today!" He looked up suddenly. "And don't let your you slip away!"

He suddenly jumped to his feet and pointed at the Yuki actor. "And you hide in your room!" He faced the stage again. "With your lights turned away..." His head snapped up again. "And you move from your tomb/It's all so far from you!"

Shuichi turned away and walked back to the stage. Ryuuichi had disappeared, as had Hiro. He looked out at the audience, and Yuki was also gone. The music finally started to fade out as he stood on the stage, alone and confused.

And then suddenly the curtain dropped with it's menacing thud.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was later in the evening by the time the others left. Ryuuichi was still deep in his sleep, and Yuki had nothing else to do, having finished his novel, but stare at Shuichi.

He heard the door open and looked up. Touma had just walked in, carrying a paper bag. He closed the door and took off his hat, resting it in a chair, and then walked over to Yuki, handing him the bag.

"What's this?" Yuki asked, opening the bag.

"Food. I know you have been eating here, but even you have to have your limits."

Yuki opened a styrofoam container to find a cheeseburger and some fries. He took a fry, ate it, then put the food in the chair next to him, looking back at Touma, who was standing between Shuichi and Ryuuichi's beds.

"I heard that since the scare a few days ago Ryuuichi-san hasn't been handling himself very well," he said at last, leaning in a bit closer to look at Ryuuichi.

"No. Not at all. I think he's having a nervous breakdown," Yuki confirmed.

"Hm. I'm really not at all surprised," Touma said softly. He turned and looked at Yuki again. "I don't think that he's acting this way because he's scared for Shuichi. I mean, that's not the only reason, anyway. I think this incident has hit him a bit too close to home."

"What do you mean by that?" Yuki asked.

"You know how alike they are," Touma explained. "Seeing Shuichi like this has made his rethink his own mortality. It could just as easily be him in that bed over there. I shudder to think how he'll react if Shuichi doesn't pull through."

"Has he always been like this?" Yuki asked softly.

Touma shook his head. "We'd been touring with Grasper for about two years. I don't know what happened- if it can really be narrowed down to a single event- but one day he started acting like this." Touma sighed and sat in a chair on the other side of the room, next to the chair where he'd placed his hat. "Ryuuichi-san is a brilliant man. You can't deny that. Shuichi actually pretty wise in choosing someone so talented and hard working as a person to model himself after, even if it's unlikely he'll ever be able to match him. But that kind of talent always has a price. He sees things differently than you or I. And he feels things differently. He had to do something or he would have suffered from a breakdown, whether it be from the stress of working with the band or having to deal with something happening to him. So he did what he thought was logical: he regressed. It's a defense mechanism. He knows precisely what he's doing. If he acts and thinks like a child, then suddenly things aren't as overwhelming to him. But then something like this happens...."

"Children don't handle seeing people they care about hurt and possbily dying very well," Yuki observed, understanding.

"Exactly. Intellectually, he's analyzed the situation and understands the full impact. But emotionally, he shows it the only way he can show any emotion: like a child," Touma confirmed. "I think you'd find that while your methods for hiding yourselves are different, you and him are actually quite a bit alike, Eiri-san. You close yourself off to the world, don't let them see weakness. But he acts like nothing is wrong and people assume that there really is nothing wrong. As I said before, me might seem like he's mentally disturbed, but deep down he knows what he is doing."

"I don't think we're that much alike," Yuki muttered, taking a bit out of the cheeseburger.

"So how are you holding up, Eiri-san?" Touma asked as soon as Yuki had finished swallowing.

"Why do you ask that? You've seen me sitting here, writing. I'd say I'm holding up pretty damn well," Yuki muttered angrilly.

Touma smiled slightly, sadly. "On the outside, yes. But then, it can be expected. You don't show your emotions. You wouldn't be sitting here if this honestly didn't have any impact on you. And judging by your constant vigil, I'd say there's more than just concern keeping you here. Something like guilt."

Yuki put down the burger. "Guilt for what?"

"I saw the reports. The whitnesses said he got hit buying cigarettes. Since he doesn't smoke, and since I like to think I know you quite well, I'd assume you feel at least partially responsible."

Yuki leaned back in the chair and sighed, closing his eyes. "This was my fault. He didn't even have to go that way. But he knew I'd get pissed off at him if he didn't get me my cigarettes. I always get pissed at him."

"Eiri-san, none of this is your fault," Touma told him firmly. "There's only one person responsible for this and, as you've probably heard, I've made sure he gets properly punished. That man would have hit someone eventually, as unfortunate as that is, and it's even more unfortunate- for us and him- that he hit Shuichi. What Shuichi was doing at the time has nothing to do with him getting hit or that man hitting him. The only good that comes out of this is that he will get the punishment that he deserves now. Is it possible that this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't told him to get you cigarettes? Perhaps. Is it possible that this wouldn't have happened if Shuichi hadn't gone out at all that day? That's even more likely. You didn't ask him to get you cigarettes with the intention of getting him hurt, and that's what matters. Had you intended for him to get hit, yes, it would be your fault, but it wasn't. You can point fingers all day: it's your fault for telling him to get cigarettes. It's his fault for deciding to leave the house. It's my fault for signing him to NG and causing him to write the lyrics that you found that caused him to meet you. It's Ryuuichi's fault for inspiring him to become a rock star in the first place. It's his mother's fault for bringing him into a world where people drive drunk. You see how easy it is to blame anyone? As far as I'm concerned only one person is to blame. He is to blame for his blatent disregard for human life, and he is to blame for possibly ending the life of another human being, or at least seriously altering it."

For a long time no one spoke. Only the sound of the life support system could be heard in the room.

"That's not really why I feel guilty," Yuki said at last. Touma didn't say anything, inviting Yuki to go on. "The last thing I said to him was I was scolding him for wearing shoes in the house. Just before that I was ordering him to buy me cigarettes and give me back my change when he's done. And before then I was telling him to shut up. That's how things always worked between us. I never once told him how I really felt. Never. Every time he tried to force me to, I'd kick him out. I told him that we could be lovers, and I told the world that we were together, but that doesn't change that I never once told him how I felt about him. He slept on the couch, for chrissakes. I call that being a lover?"

"Just because you didn't tell him how you felt doesn't mean you didn't feel it," Touma said softly. "I think he understood that. Why else would he have stayed with you? Yes, you did and said a lot of things that not even I think you should have to him, but he was still crazy about you for whatever reason, and I think that reason was that he knew that deep down inside you felt the same way."

Touma stood and stretched, then looked at the food he had brought. "Go home, Eiri-san. I'll stay here tonight. A shower, a change of clothes, and a nap in your own bed will make you feel better. If anything happens- anything at all- I'll call you. If he wakes up, I'll explain why you're not here and that you had been almost the entire time." He looked over at Ryuuichi. "Maybe when the medication wears off and he has to be sedated again I can convince K to bring him back home. That way when he wakes up K can refuse to bring him back here unless he showers and changes his clothes, also."

Yuki wanted to object, but he knew that he couldn't. He hadn't showered or changed his clothes the entire time he'd been here in the hospital, and he knew he probably didn't look or smell too pleasent at the moment. Standing and picking up his laptop, he left with room without saying another word to Touma.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi looked around the theatre. Everything was black now. The stage had turned dark, he couldn't see the audience, and there was no one around him. A sense of fear began to fill him. What if the show was over, and he'd failed somehow? What if he had actually died for real?

Suddenly, a spotlight came on. It was focused on a microphone, resting on the stage. Hestitantly, Shuichi kneeled down and picked it up. Suddenly, the spotlight on it disappeared, and another focused on him. Ordinarilly it would have hurt his eyes, but he noticed that he felt no pain in this place. He also should have felt worn, and his voice should have been getting tired, but neither of those things was happening.

Swallowing, Shuichi closed his eyes a slightly. There were words in his head, and he tried to fight them back, hoping it would end the reinactment, but no luck. Something else guided his voice when he wouldn't do it himself.

"Even after he saw me sing, he was still so cold to me," he said softly, his voice amplified in the microphone. "But there was something in him after that night. He actually told me something that made me feel secure about my career. We made love again, for the second time in my entire life. And then...then I was so confused. I moved into his house, and he tried to throw me out, only to concede in the end. But he still acted...so cold toward me. I wasn't sure how he felt about me..."

Shuichi dropped the microphone and turned around. The lights switched on, but they were dim, like at night. The set looked like Yuki's living room, and standing in the center of the room was the Yuki actor. A solemn piano melody began to play as Shuichi turned away from Yuki.

"Turn around..." Yuki sang softly.

Shuichi didn't, though. Instead, he began to sing himself. "Every now and then I get a little bit lonely/And your never coming 'round..."

"Turn around..." Yuki sang again.

Shuichi swallowed, remaining back-to the other man, eyes fixed on the mock hardwood floor of the stage. "Every now and then I get a little bit tired/Of listening to the sound of my tears..."

"Turn around..." Yuki sand once more.

Shuichi shook his head at that, surprised that he could feel real tears welling in his eyes. His voice started to get a little louder, a little shakier. "Every now and then I get a little bit nervous/That the best of all the years have gone by..."

"Turn around," the voice was getting more forceful now. It was getting harder for Shuichi to ignore the command.

But he did, balling his hands into fists. "Every now and then I get a little bit terrified/And then I see the look in your eyes-"

"Turn around, bright eyes!" Yuki sang before Shuichi could even finish. The command sounded different now, though Shuichi couldn't tell what had changed. 

Tears slid down Shuichi's cheeks now. '"Every now and then I fall apart!"

"Turn around, bright eyes!" Yuki sang out again.

Shuichi found himself doing so as he sang the next line, and the music picked up. "Every now and then I fall apart-"

He threw himself at Yuki, trying to keep from sobbing as he sang out. "And I need to know tonight/And I need you more than ever/And if you only hold me tight/We'll be holding on forever-" The Yuki actor pushed him back gently, and he kept singing. "And we'll only be making it right!/'Cause we'll never be wrong!"

He backed up, looking the Yuki actor straight in the eye. He took his hand and he sang. "Together he can take it to the end of the line-" Yuki shook his hand away. Shuichi turned away and began to walk away. "Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time!"

"I don't know what to do/And I'm always in the dark!" Shuichi sang out, knocking a lamp off a table as the cymbals of a drum crashed. "We're living in a powder keg/And giving off sparks!"

Shuichi turned around and threw himself at Yuki again. "I really need you tonight!/Forever's gonna start tonight! Forever's gonna start tonight!"

Yuki cast Shuichi away, and he dropped to his knees, holding himself up on his arms, his tears falling to the floor.

"Once upon a time I was falling in love/But now I'm only falling apart-" Shuichi brushed a tear away. "Nothing I can do, the total eclipse of the heart." He sat up, leaning back on his heels, as a piano solo played. "Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now there's only love in the dark/There's nothing I can say/A total eclipse of the heart..."

Shuichi pulled himself to his feet, knocking over another lamp. He looked at his hand to see it was bleeding, but he felt no pain. The the words that Yuki sang echoed through the theatre, coming from an entire chorus of people.

"Turn around, bright eyes!"

"Every now and then I fall apart!" Shuichi sang in response.

"Turn around, bright eyes!"

"Every now and then I fall apart-" He once again threw himself at Yuki. "And I need to know tonight!/And I need you more than ever!" He embraced him tightly. "And if you'd only hold me tight/We'd be holding on forever!/And we'll only be making it right/'Cause we can never be wrong!"

Shuichi released his grip on Yuki a bit and backed up, still singing. "Together we can take it to the end of the line/'Cause like a shadow only all of the time!"

He turned around and began to walk away, flailing his arms angrilly with the song. "I don't know what to do/I'm always in the dark/We're livinging in a powder keg and giving off sparks!"

He suddenly turning to Yuki, hurt and longing and anger in his eyes. "I really need you tonight!/Forever's gonna start tonight! Forever's gonna start tonight..."

As he sang that last line, he found himself falling to his knees again, crying again. "Once upon a time I was falling in love/But now I'm only falling apart..." He looked up at Yuki, staring into those cold golden eyes. "There's nothing I can do, the total eclipse of the heart." Shuichi pulled himself to his feet, walking over to Yuki. "Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now there's only love in the dark..." He embraced Yuki. "There's nothing I can say/The total eclipse of the heart..." He buried his face in his chest. "A total eclipse of the heart.../A total eclipse of the heart..."

"Turn around, bright eyes..." Yuki's voice whispered.

Then the curtain dropped with it's thud, and Shuichi opened his eyes to find he was holding no one, and that the set had disappeared.

"Wh-what?" he stammered, stepping back.

"It's time for act four," Hiro's voice said from no where, cutting through the silence.

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 3~

Final Note- I am not sure what scene to do next. If you have any suggestions, feel free to give them. Also, if you know of a song that would go well with this fic, tell me about it. No garentees I'll use it, though, since I have the soundtrack almost all planned out.


	5. Act 4: The Best of Times/Making Love Out...

Goo's Note- I don't know what I'm doing anymore, and I am trying to put off the major thing with Aizawa for at least another act, but since me and my friends couldn't think of anything 100% significant to the plot before then (other than the Ayaka junk, but since it's the end of the live show where you get Shuichi's feelings, I won't do anything with that), this is about Bad Luck's live show (second, from episode five, and speaking of which Bad Luck REALLY needs a second song. Rage Beat is only going to carry them so far) and a little something from Yuki's point of view. (Yes, Yuki is going to sing! And it's a song you'd never expect him to sing, but I love how the song conveys the singer's disbelief that someone can love him for no reason that he can even begin to fathom.) The part with Yuki is a little blurred together, taking things he said in episodes two, five, and the beginning of six (which was just what was said at the end of five). Trust me, next act will be much more plot-filled and significant.

Disclaimer- Gravitation still ain't mine. And as for the songs, "The Best of Times" is originally performed by Styx and was written by Dennis DeYoung. (I chose it because it has a good synth and guitar part and because of how it changes tones a lot. The lyrics also sound pretty good in relation to Shuichi's feelings). "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" was performed by Air Supply (REALLY sappy group from the 70s famous for their cavity-inducing, sugary-sweet love songs. This song was their last single from 1985 though, and it's a little different, mostly because it has a different songwriter. It's also MUCH better than their other junk.) and was written by (SURPRISE!) Jim Steinman! (Toldya I loved him...)

A/N- Slight spoiler (just that Mika is pregnant, which is implied at the end of the series). That, and NOW I'm implying stuff between K and Ryuuichi. (Hey, people have come out with stranger couples.) Damn me and my imagination...

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 4: The Best of Times/Making Love Out of Nothing At All

~Curtain Rises~

It was late afternoon when Yuki went back into the hospital room, carrying a suitcase that contained his clothes, his razor, his shampoo, his toothbrush, his toothpaste, his soap, and one of Shuichi's outfits for when they could take him home. (If they could, of course.) He also had his laptop in a case he was carrying, trying to keep from dropping it as he held a cup of coffee in the same hand. Lately he'd been mostly living off coffee, which was his secret to stomaching the hospital food.

Inside the room, Touma was slouching sideways in the same chair he had been in when Yuki left, fast asleep. He noticed with surprise that not only was Ryuuichi gone, but so was Shuichi.

Yuki let his bag drop unneccesarily hard to produce a loud "thud", which he knew would wake Touma. He was surprised his footsteps hadn't done that, since Touma was famous for being a light sleeper. It worked, and Touma sat bolt upright, looking for the source of the disturbance, and seeing Yuki, he relaxed and bit, yawning and stretching.

"Welcome back, Eiri-san," he said mid-yawn.

"Where is he?" Yuki demanded, looking at the hospital bed.

Touma also looked. "I tried to call you, but you must have already been on your way here. He's in surgery. Another skin graft on his arm. Nothing that should be life-threatening. He'll be back by late evening," he explained.

Yuki audibly sighed with relief, not afraid to show SOME emotion around his older brother figure. He handed Touma the cup of coffee and put his bag between the two beds. The spot he had cleared for his laptop now had a huge flower arrangement resting on it, and he picked it up and placed it on the floor so he could set his computer down.

"This is his third skin graft on that arm," Yuki muttered as he found an available outlet and plugged his computer in to recharge.

Touma nodded sadly. "I know. The doctor said this is the last one they are going to attempt. If his arm doesn't start healing and producing healthy tissue on it's own, they'll have to amputate. Hopefully this one works."

Yuki sighed and looked around the room. It was so empty and quiet without Shuichi and Ryuuichi in there. Though he didn't exactly like hearing Ryuuichi sobbing for hours on end or listening to Shuichi's life support, it at least filled the room with some noise.

"Where's Sakuma?" he asked at last.

Touma sipped at the coffee. "K came in. I made him take Ryuuichi-san to his place. He was awake and he didn't want to leave, but I told him Shuichi would be in surgery most of the day and he wouldn't be able to watch him, anyway, and that he needed a shower, a decent meal, and to sleep in a bed. He left, but K was all but carrying him. His back and neck are still sore." Touma stood and stretched fully. "And I can definately see why. I only slept in that chair one night and my back is killing me. He was there almost continuiously for nine days."

There was a few moments of silence in the room. Touma's phone rang, but Touma made no motion to answer it.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Yuki asked after about four rings.

Touma shook his head. "I know who it is. And I don't feel much like talking to them right now." After the ringing stopped, he took his phone from his pocket, read the number on the screen, then sighed and shut it off completely. "Yes, it was exactly who I thought it was."

"I like to think I know you as well as you know me," Yuki said suddenly.

Touma nodded slightly. "Yes, that's a pretty good assumption."

"After all, I'm the only person who knows you have a third nipple besides Mika," Yuki told him with a small smile.

Touma suddenly blushed and cleared his throat, an uncharacteristic gesture for the NG President. "Well, not quite...Ryuuichi-san and Noriko-chan know, too...but I fail to see what that has to do with anything."

"My point is that just like you knew it was guilt as well as concern keeping me here, I know that there's something other than concern keeping you here. Concern for either Shuichi or myself. I think you're hiding here."

Touma looked away. "So it was that obvious when I shut off my phone?"

"You're trying to keep from going home, aren't you?" Yuki asked him.

There was another awkward silence. Then Touma sighed and looked over at Yuki. There appeared to be tears brimming his eyes, much to Yuki's surprise. "Mika and I....our marriage isn't working out the way we want it to. I brought her with me to Los Angeles so that after my meeting we could have a second honeymoon, so to speak, and try to make things work. But she took me being called back here as an omen that it wasn't meant to work. And then, on the plane..." Touma stopped and swallowed. "Twins. She's going to have twins. In just over three months time I'll be a father of two. It's...overwhelming. Surely you noticed she was hiding here herself at first. I'm only hiding here to keep from hiding out at the bar. It wouldn't be very fatherly of me to get falling over drunk when I hear something that I should be excited about."

"You don't want to be a father?" Yuki asked solemnly. In his mind, he was trying to recover from the shock. He did think his sister was getting very big very fast, but he'd never made a comment about it, mostly because he didn't know how big pregnant women usually got or at what rate. Then he realized he was going to be an uncle of two....

Touma took a long drink of his coffee. "It's...hard to explain. Initially, no, I didn't. I never wanted to have children. I mean, the fact that I'm 32 and still childless should confirm that. But when I found out Mika was pregnant...suddenly, it seemed like the greatest thing on earth. Maybe because I felt it could save our marriage. But twins? Two? How can either one of us deal with that?" He finished off his coffee, and Yuki could tell he wished he had something stronger. "She told me she wants to leave me. She just doesn't know when. If she leaves now, she'll have to worry about being pregnant with twins and finding someplace to live and some means of supporting herself, but at least then the children will be born not knowing their parents were ever together. But if she stays, she'll have to deal with me getting close to them and them getting close to me. I told her that she can have the house, the cars, as much money as she could ever need...it doesn't matter to me. In fact, I think I'll be the one who ends up leaving. I just want to have joint custody of our children. I told her the only way I'll ever feel otherwise is if she can prove their not mine. Since she agreed to this arrangement, I'm hoping that means they are mine. That, or she doesn't want me to get a paternity test and seeing that she cheated on me. But then, if she did that and proved they weren't mine, I'd be out of her life forever. I'm just so confused right now. I needed some time away, some time to think."

Yuki stared at the cieling. He didn't know what to say. He'd never been married (though he'd come close...more times then most people knew), and he'd never wanted to be a father at all. (Though no one knew it, when he was 20 he'd gotten a vasectomy for that reason, when he was still sleeping with many women.) Now someone who'd been like an older brother to him growing up was having to deal with a failing marriage and impending fatherhood times two.

"Did you ever love her?" Yuki asked. The question had plagued him for almost seven years, how long Touma had been married to Mika.

Touma crushed the cup in his hand. "I thought I did. Surely you heard the talk, that I only married her for you. Though you also know that's impossible because we were married before I met you. You were just...an added bonus, so to speak. And one reason I tried to make it work for so long. I think, at the time, I was searching for something permenant. Something secure. I was in a profession that was unsteady at best, where our success was riding on the opinions of others. I had no really strong relationships, no one home, I didn't know where I'd wake up, or with who, for that matter. I needed something that I knew would always be there, and a wife seemed logical. Mika and I had only dated for two months before we got married, I was in such a hurry to get something I could hold onto. And that was what made me stay for so long, though it's quite obvious that we aren't your portrait of wedded bliss and we never were. And that's the main reason I want to have a chance to see my children. Because they're mine, and they're permenant."

Yuki stood up and stetched. He needed a smoke. "Maybe Sakuma has something with his regression thing. At least, before all this with Shuichi, he seemed happy enough. At the very least he was coping."

Touma also stood up. "Our lives are going to hell in a handbasket."

"Well, at least we can commiserate. They say misery loves company..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi looked around the empty stage. Where had Yuki gone?

"It's time for act four," Hiro's voice said from no where, cutting through the silence. A blue spotlight came on, highlighting Hiro standing with his guitar. On the other side of the stage, a pink one came on, highlighting Suguru, who, Shuichi noted, hadn't been seen or heard from since before the show began. He was standing at his keyboard, and both of them were in their concert clothes.

"Fujisaki?" he murmured, before a yellow spotlight shone on him. Ordinarilly, he wouldn't have been blinded or caught off guard, but not this time. He looked down, recognizing his concert outfit. He was also holding a microphone, though a split second earlier he'd felt nothing solid in his hand. Actually, he still felt nothing solid. He felt nothing, period, except for the emotions attached to the scene.

He looked out at the audience. No faces were visable, only two figures standing in back: Yuki and Ayaka. Swallowing, Shuichi lifted the microphone. He suddenly felt another monologue coming on, against his will. He wasn't sure how this place worked, but he definately didn't like it. Not one bit. Especially since he didn't seem to have any will of his own. He felt like a puppet here, and the puppeteer was moving him and speaking through him.

"This was out first live show," Shuichi said into the microphone. "It was at Ruido, the famous live house where Nittle Grasper played their first live show. Before the show, I was preoccupied, and no one knew what I was going to do. So I did what I thought felt right, what K had told me to do..."

Just then the music began to play. He looked back at one of the figures in the back of the room. He could have sworn the theatre looked smaller now, but he couldn't confirm it as his cue to sing came up.

"Tonight's the night we'll make history/Honey, you and I/'Cause I'll take any risk/To tie back the hands of time/And stay with you here tonight," Shucihi sang. He looked next to him and noticed a mic stand. He put down the microphone to free his hands, not losing eye contact with Yuki. "I know you feel/These are the worst of times/I do believe it's true/When people lock their doors/And hide inside/Rumor has it it's the end of paradise."

"But I know," Shuichi looked down at the stage. "If the world just passed us by-" he threw his head back up. "Baby, I know! I wouldn't have to cry, no no!"

He took the microphone back off of it's stand as he continued to sing, walking across the stage. "The best of times/Are when I'm alone with you/Some rain, some shine/We'll make this a world for two!"

He grabbed the mic stand, leaning against it. "Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime/We'll take the best, forget the rest, and someday we'll find..."

Suddenly, invisable back-up singers began to sing as he supported himself on the mic stand. "These are the best/Of times!/These are the best/Of times!"

A guitar solo began, and Shuichi put his microphone back on it's stand. He swallowed and stared at Yuki as the solo finished, then grabbed the mic stand again. "The headlines read these are the worst of times/I do believe it's true/I feel so helpless, like a boat against the tide/I wish the summer wind could bring back paradise..."

He took the microphone off it's stand again. and walked to the edge of the stage. "But I know/If turned upside down/Baby, I know!/You would always be around, my my!"

The other singers took over again. "The best of times/Are when I'm alone with you/Some rain, some shine/We'll make this a world for two!"

"When I'm alone with you!" Shuichi interupted. "Everything's all right!"

"The best of times/Are when I'm alone with you/Some rain, some shine/We'll make this a world for two!"

"When I'm alone with you!/You brighten up the night!"

The music suddenly stopped, as Shuichi screamed out "YUKI IS MINE!!"

The spotlights shut off, except a white one on Shuichi and another on Yuki. Then that, too, turned off, and Shuichi was left standing alone again as the curtain dropped. No applause, only deafening silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Time was passing achingly slow. Yuki and Touma were the only ones sitting in the hospital room, waiting for Shuichi to come back. Or anything else to happen, for that matter, as the time since they had left for a quick break after Touma's confession had passed in a highly awkward silence.

The door opened, and Yuki (who had managed to find some entertainment in organzing the flowers and gifts by size and color) darted back into his seat, lest anyone see him busying himself with flowers. He was secretly hoping the doctors were bringing Shuichi back into the room, but no such luck. It was Sakano, Suguru, and Hiro. And Hiro looked more pissed than ever.

Suguru sat near his cousin, Sakano sat near the door, and Hiro merely stood in the center of the room, surveying it, as if looking for something.

"Okay, where the hell is he?" he asked at last.

"Surgery," Yuki said gruffily. He'd never seen Nakano Hiroshi this hostile, not even when he'd run into him after the incident with Aizawa, and though he'd never admit it, it was frightening him.

"On his arm," Touma further explained, sensing the tension (to say the least) between the two younger men. "He'll be back any minute now."

Hiro looked at the empty hospital bed, still scowling, then took a seat next to Sakano (which placed him directly across from Yuki, allowing him to glare at him). Yuki noted with mild curiosity that he appeared to be shaking a bit.

"You'll have to excuse him," Surugu said after Hiro sat down. "He found out a few days ago that Shuichi was hit buying cigarettes, and he's trying to quit smoking. Cold turkey. As you can plainly see, it's making him quite irritable, and he wasn't exactly in a good mood before then...."

Sakano was looking at Hiro rather nervously. He loosened his tie, swallowed, then stood up, muttered something along the lines that he was excusing himself, and left the room.

"He also nearly took off poor Sakano-san's head this morning when he found out we couldn't go to the hospital until we answered a few questions for the press, and then acted very rude toward the interviewers, so Sakano-san is trying to avoid him," Suguru further explained.

Hiro gritted his teeth. "Yeah, so I'm in a bad mood. So what?" Hiro snapped. "At least I can say it's because I'm trying to quit smoking. What the hell is your excuse?!" He stood up and removed his denim-jacket. "I think you just need to get laid. Maybe then you wouldn't be so uptight and it might kill the bug up your ass!"

Suguru gasped, then blushed, mentally reminding himself it was the nicotine craving talking, not Hiro. Touma bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from laughing at the comment about his tightly-wound cousin. Yuki, on the other hand, was much better at hiding how amused he was with the remark. Nicotine fit-induced or not, it was funny and probably true.

Hiro sat back down in his chair and proceeded to look for something to keep his hands busy. He continued to glare at Yuki. "And what about you, asshole?" he said at last after he found a pack of gum in his pocket. "I'm quitting smoking and I had nothing to do with it." He put a stick of gum in his mouth. "He got hit buying your cigarettes and you aren't even making an effort!"

Yuki had to mentally count down from ten before he spoke, making sure his voice was as cool an even as possible. "I do know what he was doing when he got hit. You think I haven't already blamed myself for it? Ask Touma if you think I haven't. But quitting smoking would make me more irritable and more anxious, and that's not something I need right now. After all this is over and I know the outcome, I assure you I fully plan on quitting."

Hiro opened his mouth to respond, but Touma spoke before he could. "Where's Mr. K? I thought for sure he would be with you."

Suguru shook his head. "No. We assumed he would be here. He didn't show up at the press conference. Poor Sakano-san had to deal with both Nakano-san on the warpath and having to keep us in line during the conference because of it. When all of this first started, the doctors gave him medication to control his blood pressure, but something tells me it's not healthy to keep swallowing one after another like they're candy..."

"I think he could use a good roll in the hay, too," Hiro put in. "I'll bet he's never been to bed with anyone. A 29 year old virgin. Pathetic. Hey, Fujisaki, maybe you can go to bed together and solve both your problems!"

Yuki was sick of this guy now. The first remark was cute, but now it as just getting plain aggrivating, and he already felt a migraine coming on. He'd tried quitting smoking in the past, and he knew how cranky the nicotine withdrawls made you, but usually one could stay within the realm of good taste and have some control over what they were saying while they were going through them.

"Nakano, shut the hell up," Yuki said at last. "I don't know how things work in your world, but in the real world not every problem is solved by a good fuck!"

"Language!" a familiar voice warned in English, albiet more jovially than the situation called for. Everyone in the room looked at the still-open door. Standing in it was K, hands planted firmly in his pockets, lopsided grin on his face, and Sakuma Ryuuichi firmly attached to his hip, it would seem. Ryuuichi was holding Kumagorou by the arm, and had his arms wrapped tightly around K's waist, his face buried in his side. As K stepped forward into the room, and Ryuuichi stepped with him, nearly tripping with the sudden movement but not letting the other man go.

K sat in the chair next to Yuki, Ryuuichi falling into the one next to him easilly as he did. No one was sure what to make of this strange sight, especially since K seemed to be ignoring it all together.

"Um...Mr. K, not to be rude, but why is Ryuuichi holding you like that?" Touma asked nervously.

Hiro was fumbling with his pack of gum, obviously wishing it was a pack of cigarettes instead. "Isn't it obvious? They must of knocked boots last night and now Ryuuichi won't leave him alone. You feed a cat once and it keeps coming back, expecting more..."

"Is sex the only thing you can think about?" Yuki asked Hiro icily. He'd never heard of someone getting horny as a result of nicotine withdrawl...

"Nothing happened. Honestly," K assured them. "We went to my house, and his back and neck still hurt so after he laid down I gave him a massage. He fell asleep in the middle of it. He woke up late this afternoon, ate something, took a shower, changed his clothes, then latched onto me, and he's been that way ever since." He shrugged. "If letting him hang onto me keeps him from crying and helps him cope, then I guess I'm doing my part of the effort, especially since I don't really have to do anything."

"What the hell do you know about massage?" Hiro snapped, ignoring the fact that this man had a gun and absolutely no hang-ups about aiming it at people's heads.

K let this slide, sensing that Hiro obviously wasn't himself. "Back in the CIA, we'd have to stand or crouch in uncomfortable positions for hours on end. The guys who knew massage were gods, so I took a class. I got more money, free food, and free gun tune-ups and repairs that way."

"I still don't buy it..." Hiro muttered, taking out another stick of gum and putting it in his mouth, ignoring that he was already chewing a piece.

K looked over at Suguru. "Before I shoot him, can you tell me whether there's something going on that's effecting his mental health right now?"

"He's trying to quit smoking," Suguru explained once again. "It's making him irritable. It's also making him obsessed with sex, for some strange reason."

"Ah. I see. Then I guess I'll let it go...for now."

It was at that moment the door opened again. Two orderlies came in with a gurney, two more blocking the others from seeing anything no matter what angle they were sitting at. Everyone held their breath as limbs were placed in the pulleys of the traction system and the respirator and EKG were hooked back up and turned on. The orderlies left, closing the door behind them.

There was Shuichi again, his limbs in casts and in the traction system...except for his right arm. It took them a few moments to realize what was strange about this picture, and they all realized it at once: his right arm, from about 3 centimetres above his elbow down, was completely gone, bound off tightly with bandages.

Yuki shot from his seat so fast that the chair fell over and stomped into the hall, catching up with one of the orderlies and grabbing her arm.

"What the hell happened to him?!" he snarled in the woman's face.

"You're...Yuki Eiri..." she murmured, but seeing how angry he was, she swallowed and answered the question. "In surgery...there were some complications. They found dead muscle tissue, so they had no choice but to amputate. There was no hope of it healing, and there was a severe risk of infection."

Yuki released the woman's arm, realizing hurting her wasn't going to change the fact that Shuichi's arm had been amputated. Without saying another word, he turned around and headed back toward the room. Hiro was standing next to Shuichi's bed, Ryuuichi had buried his face into K's side and was sobbing with K rubbing his back slightly, and Suguru had looked away. Touma was the only one who looked at Yuki as he walked into the room.

"They said they found dead muscle tissue and there was no saving it, so they amputated," Yuki announced. Hiro looked at him, scowled, then reached and hesitantly touched the bandages on what was left of his arm, as if it would prove it hadn't been taken off at all.

Suddenly, Hiro whirled around so he was face-to-face with Yuki. He had a feral look in his eye, and Yuki almost took a step back. Suddenly, Hiro reached out. Everyone expected him to hit him, but instead he reached into the pocket on the front of his shirt, taking out his cigarettes and lighter.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Yuki growled.

Hiro turned to leave the room. "What the hell does it look like?! This is your fault, you bastard! You and your fucking cigarettes' fault! So let me have one of these fucking cigarettes that my best friend had to lose an arm over!"

"But Nakano-san, you're supposed to be quitting-" Suguru started.

"Fuck you!" Hiro shouted from the hallway.

Everyone looked at the door for a moment, before averting their gaze back to Shuichi.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi closed his eyes for a moment. He'd long since figured out that the lights turned off when the sets were swiched for certain scenes. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, dim lights were over a set of the interior of Yuki's apartment. Shuichi walked over to the set, scanning his mind for words, he was surprised to find neither a monologue or a song, only a stage direction telling him to sit on the couch. He did so, instinctively wrapping himself in the blanket sitting there, and stared at the actor of Yuki, who was gazing at the painted cityscape outside the fake window.

"I don't understand you," the Yuki actor said, toward the window but Shuichi understood that he meant him. "I am fine being yours. I'll be your lover."

The Yuki actor turned as a single piano melody began to play. Shuichi waited for song lyrics to come to him, but much to his surprise he found none. Instead, Yuki began singing.

"I know just how to whisper/And I know just how to cry/I know just where to find the answers/And I know just how to lie." He began to walk to Shuichi, who was literally frozen in place, both from the shock of seeing Yuki sing (actor Yuki or not) and from the fact that the show wasn't permitting him to.

"I know just how to fake it/And I know just how to scheme/I know just when to face the truth/And then I know just when to dream," Yuki sang, sitting down on the couch. "And I know just where to touch you," he sang, running his finger down Shuichi's cheek. "And I know just what to prove/I know when to pull you closer-" He pulled Shuichi toward him. "And I know when to let you loose!" He then pushed Shuichi away from him, though not violently, and got to his feet, walking back to the window.

"And I know the night is fading!/And I know the time's gonna fly!" he sang forcefully, hitting the blinds and causing them to fall and hide the fake scenery. He turned back to Shuichi, still with that firey look in his eyes. "And I know the roads to riches!/And I know the ways to fame!/I know all the rules/And then I know who to break them/And I always know the name of the game!"

He walked over to Shuichi, his face losing the fire, and sat next to him, almost whispering as he sang the next lines. "But I don't know how to leave you/And I'll never let you fall..." He tilted Shuichi's face so he was staring into his eyes. "And I don't know how you do it/Making love out of nothing at all."

"Making love!" an invisable choir sang somewhere off stage.

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

Suddenly, more instruments joined the single piano, and Yuki jumped to his feet. "Everytime I see you all the rays of the sun/Are all streaming through the waves in your hair/And every star in the sky is taking aim at your eyes/Like a spotlight!"

He walked over to the window and pulled the blinds, amking them fall. "The beating of my heart is drum/And it's lost, and it's looking for a rythm like you/You can take the darkness from the pit of the night/And turn into a beacon burning endlessly bright!"

"I'm gonna fall away!" the background singers sang.

"'Cause everything I owned, well, it's nothing till I gave it to you!"

As a piano solo started, Shuichi found he could move. He tried to stand, but the Yuki actor pushed him back down, giving him a quick kiss before the solo ended. Then he walked back into the center of the set.

"And I can make the runners stumble/And I can make the final block/I can make every tackle at the sound of the whistle/And I can make all the stadiums rock!" He walked over and pulled Shuichi to his feet, causing him to drop his blanket. 

Shuichi suddenly found words in his mind, and sang the next verse. "And I can make tonight forever/Or I can make it disappear at the dawn/And I can make you every promise that has ever been made/And I can make all your demons be gone!"

Shuichi walked back over to the couch, still singing. "But I'm never gonna make it without you/Do you really wanna see me crawl?" He threw himself on the couch, staring on the floor.

Yuki walked over to the couch and tilted his head back up, looking into his eyes as he sang. "And I'm never gonna make it like you do/Making love out of nothing at all."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all..."

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all!"

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all!"

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all!"

"Making love!"

"Out of nothing at all!"

The music faded, and just as Yuki leaned in to kiss Shuichi, the curtain dropped, and the lights turned off, leaving Shuichi alone, sitting on the stage.

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 4~

Goo's Note- I am getting into stuff from episode 6 next act, so if you want to avoid spoilers I suggest you skip it or just read the parts about Shuichi. At this point I'll note that this fic is NOT about how the others are coping with Shuichi's accident, it's about Shuichi's musical, hence I put more effort into those scenes. (It might not seem like it, but dammit, writing a musical with full choreography in prose form is HARD!) The updates of the others' comings and goings are supposed to be "intermission" and to give you some idea of the time that's passed.


	6. Act 5: Bed of Roses/Life is a Lemon and ...

Goo's Note- There's DEFINATELY spoilers in this chapter and here on out, so if you want to know what happens to Shuichi but don't want to be spoiled, at this point you know that the pattern is real world-show-real world-show, so just skip the show parts. However, you'd be missing a lot, since this fic revolves around the show and not the other stuff. (And yes, I have Yuki singing again, just something a little more his tone and not as sappy as last time.) And no, I don't really like the HiroxSuguru coupling, but since I'd much rather jump on that bandwagon than the HiroxAyaka one, well...*raises HiroxSuguru banner*

Disclaimer- *Opens her notebook* Well, I do own a A copyright, but not the copyright to Gravitation. Or any of the songs, for that matter. "Bed of Roses" was written by Jon Bon Jovi and performed by Bon Jovi, and "Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" was performed by Meat Loaf and written by *drum roll* JIM STEINMAN!!!

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 5: Bed of Roses/Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back

~Curtain Rises~

Everyone had expected it to take a long time to adjust to Shuichi's missing arm, but five days after discovering it had been amputated (and exactly two weeks and two days after Shuichi had been first admitted to the hospital) everyone seemed to have adjusted to the change remarkebly well. Hiro, after making a vow similar to Yuki's to only quit smoking after this crisis was over, had returned to his normal, worried, and slightly less cranky self.

Another strange thing was that the number of people living in the hospital room had once again increased in number, especially after Suguru noticed there was a TV mounted near the ceiling in the far right corner of the room. Since Ryuuichi wouldn't let K out of his grasp (unless K told him he needed to use the bathroom), K had had no choice but to live out of the room. And Touma had also joined the group, announcing he needed a complete vacation from everything else going on in his life and having a roll-away bed moved into the room, as well as what had to have been half his wardrobe. His phone was shut off completely, and all NG knew was that he had announced he was taking a respite and he didn't know when he was planning on returning. Not even Mika knew he was living in the hospital room. And on K's request, another bed had been brought in.

No one working at the hospital had ever seen anything like it: a rock star in a coma, and a famous novelist, two other rock stars (one the president of NG records), and a man with a gun, living in a hospital room, one of the five talking about it like it was some kind of spa, a refuge from the outside world (and one not talking at all). They'd all brough their own clothes, their own beds, and their own toiletries, and seemed to be making themselves right at home, even bringing in their own food and having quite a few visitors coming in an out. Sometimes the occupants of the room could feel the eyes of surprised nurses and even a few patients gazing in at the odd sight, but they'd learned to ignore them.

Three and a half weeks since Shuichi had entered his coma had now passed, as Suguru and Hiro walked into the room, Suguru holding two paper bags and Hiro holding two cardboard beverage holders, one holding four drinks and another holding three. Yuki was sitting in the corner near the free outlet, typing aimlessly on his laptop (he hadn't decided what his next novel would be about, even with his editor breathing down his neck for him to submit a preliminary outline), his hair messy, a towel around his neck, wearing gray sweatpants and an unbuttoned black shirt, what he usually wore to bed. K was sitting on his bed, Ryuuichi having finally released him from his grip (though if K moved without saying where he was going, Ryuuichi would grab him and not let him move), dressed as he usually did only with his holster resting on the floor next to his bed (but his gun under his pillow) and his tie and shoes abset. Even Touma looked relaxed, wearing an uncharacteristic ensamble of faded blue jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck as he sat Indian-style in the center of his bed. One Sakano didn't look any more relaxed, his face flushed, fiddling with his tie and glasses, and pacing the room occaisonally (having to sidestep the beds and flowers and gifts scattered about the room. He'd managed to only fall twice so far...) before sitting back down in his seat.

"Food call!" Hiro announced. He sat the drinks in a seat and began lifting the lids of the unmarked cups. Suguru placed the bags in front of the chair and began to take the cups over to each owner as Hiro called out their contents and who they went to. "We've got an iced tea for Yuki- sorry, no alcohol in bulding, black decaf for Sakano, one coffee with two sugars and one cream for Seguchi-san, cherry soda for Sakuma-san, one coffee with milk but no cream or sugar for Mr. K, root beer for Fujisaki, and last but certainly not least, a Coca-cola for me."

Hiro moved the beverage holders out of the way as Suguru put the bags in the chair and opened containers to see what they had, this time Hiro delivering the food as each item was called, as well as who had ordered it. "Chicken and broccolli for Seguchi-san, a puu puu platter for two for Mr. K and Seguchi-san, sweet and sour chicken and pork fried rice for Yuki-san, one order of plain white rice for Sakano-san- sorry to hear about your ulcer, and peking duck for Nakano-san, leaving just beef and broccolli for me."

The chopsticks had just been passed around and everyone had started eating when the door flew open. Standing on the other side was a very displeased Mika.

"Seguchi Touma, where the hell have you been?!" she cried, looking around the room. She suddenly raised an eyebrow upon seeing everyone settled down for dinner, the television on an action movie, flower arrangements, gifts, and suitcases scattered around beds and chairs throughout the cluttered room, and Shuichi still on life support, now sans right arm.

"I've been right here," Touma said offhandedly. "Ask anyone in here."

Everyone nodded and resumed eating, intentionally ignoring the woman.

"You're welcome to have some, if you want," Suguru offered, holding out his container of food to accentuate his point.

"I didn't come here for Chinese food, dammit, I came here to find my husband! Do you know how worried I was?! Your office said you called them and told them you were taking time off and you didn't say where or when you'd be back, no one can reach your cell phone, and then someone comes to our house saying they work for you and they want your clothes and two of our roll-away beds!" Mika fumed. Only the first sentance was guided at Suguru, and was enough to make him shrink back in his seat and continue eating in silence.

Touma shrugged cooly and finished the piece of chicken he was chewing on, washing it down with coffee. "Why should you be worried? You're alone in the house and my stuff was gone. You knew it was going to happen. Besides, I just wanted some time away from the pressures of work. My number one act just had his arm amputated not even a week and a half ago, and I'd like to make sure he's getting taken care of properly."

"You could have told me," Mika told him cooly, bringing her voice back down. She looked like she was still trying to register what was going on in the room. "You all don't seem too damn worried for people staying in a hospital room because someone you care about could die..."

Hiro shrugged and put down his food, taking a drink of his soda before speaking. "You know Shuichi. Would he want us moping around, acting like he's already dead, or would he want us to carry on around him and treat him like he's still with us? I'm pretty sure he can hear us. We're not enjoying ourselves, that's true, but if we act like he's dead then he will die."

Mika didn't know what to say or do. It was obvious that no one was going to even stop eating because she was there, and therefore there was no point in talking them out of resuming their normal lives and to stop living in a hospital as if it were a hotel.

"Mika-san, the way I see it, you have two choices," Touma said at last. "You can pull up a chair, maybe get some food, and join the rest of us, or you can leave right now." It was obvious that he meant a lot more by his words: if she stayed in the hospital room, that meant she was going to stay with him. If she left, then they were finally through.

Mika gave the hospital room one last look around, then turned and walked back out, shutting the door behind her with a slam that meant more than any words could have for Touma.

"I guess she made her decision," Touma said quietly, nibbling on a piece of broccolli.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The set hadn't changed, Shuichi noticed, as the lights came back on, still dimmed.

"Act five," a female voice said. Out of the shadows stepped Mika, and Shuichi turned to look her in the eye. The curtain raised, and Shuichi was left standing with the woman, oblivious to the audience, if there was one.

"You don't understand how Eiri thinks," Mika said. But what she said next let Shuichi know this was definately not THE Mika, just a narrator. "But if you did know, then you'd know that he doesn't want to hurt you. He thinks you deserve better, and he thinks he is nothing."

Suddenly, the Mika actress stepped away, and Shuichi walked over to the eaves of the stage. He wasn't in this scene, he guessed, as the spotlight shown on the Yuki actor.

The orchestra began playing as Yuki walked by his couch, running his hand across the black leather couch. "Sitting here/Wasted and wounded/At this old piano/Trying hard to capture/The moment this morning I don't know," he sang quietly, barely audible. He leaned over and picked something off the coffee table. A bottle. "'Cause a bottle of vodka/Is still lodged in my head/And some blonde gave me nightmares/I think she's still in my bed/As I dream about movies/They won't make of me when I'm dead..." He took a drink from the bottle, then threw it.

The lights on the stage turned up a bit more, as if to make it seem like the daylight. "With an ironclad fist I wake up and/French kiss the morning/While some marching band keeps/Its own beat in my head/While we're talking..."

He picked up the blanket and pillow that were laying on the couch, holding them both against him. "About all of the things that I long to believe/About love and the truth and/What you mean to me/And the truth is baby you're all that I need..."

He then threw them both back down. "I want to lay you down in a bed of roses!/For tonight I sleep on a bed on nails!" He sat down on the other end of the couch. "I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is/And lay you down in a bed of roses..."

He reached over and picked up his cigarettes, lighting one as the music still played, singing at the same time. "Well I'm so far away/That each step that I take is on my way home/A king's ransom in dimes I'd given each night/Just to see through this payphone..."

He stood up and walked around to the front of the table. "Still I run out of time/Or it's hard to get through/Till the bird on the wire flies me back to you/I'll just close my eyes and whisper/Baby blind love is true..."

He threw down the cigarette and stepped on it. "I want to lay you down in a bed of roses!/For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails!/I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is/And lay you down in a bed of roses..."

He walked over to were some more bottles were and poured himself a drink, singing at the same time. "The hotel bar hangover whiskey's gone dry/The barkeeper's wig's crooked/And she's giving me the eye/I might have said yeah/But I laughed so hard I think I died..."

The drank the contents of the glass in one gulp before he continued to sing, walking back to the couch as he did. "Now, as you close your eyes/Know I'll be thinking about you/While my mistress she calls me/To stand in her spotlight again." He kicked away the table. "Tonight I won't be alone/But you know that don't/Mean I'm not lonely/I've got nothing to prove/For it's you that I'd die to defend."

He then threw the glass to the fake hardwood floor, shattering it. "I want to lay you down in a bed of roses!/For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails!/I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is/And lay you down on bed of roses!"

He walked back to the window, which had also changed to the city, smacking it after each line. "I want to lay you down in a bed of roses!/For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails!/I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is/And lay you down in a bed of roses..." With the last line, the window smashed, and the music stopped abruptly. The lights turned off, and the curtain came crashing down.

Shuichi was just frozen to his spot....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was four days after Mika's appearence. The day before had been very solemn, as it marked the one-month anniversary since Shuichi had entered his coma, but the day after things once again began to pick up. Hiro was flipping through the channels on the television, mostly the give his hands a rest. (He'd been playing his guitar all day in the room, and though Yuki had complained about it, he'd actually enjoyed it.) Suguru had been sent out in search of coffee, and Touma was stetched along his bed, a notepad in front of him, scibbling away. It was K's turn to take a shower, and as he had taken Ryuuichi with him, everyone had gotten suspicious. Yuki had finally sent away his outline for his novel, and though his editor had called him to tell him she wasn't sure about his new idea and that she wasn't happy about how vague he was about the ending (at least, she had said so on his answering machine when Yuki called it from a payphone to check it), Yuki had assured her it wouldn't be much different then his other books when he'd returned her call.

Suguru finally returned, holding two coffees. He handed one to Touma, and the other to Yuki, before sitting next to Hiro to watch him flip through the channels.

"Seguchi-san, what are you writing?" he asked offhandedly, as if watching his cousin write hadn't been bothering him for the past 4 hours.

"Nothing, really," Touma said with a shrug. "Just amusing myself. Playing word games, jotting down things that would make good lyrics, doodling, thinking of baby names, that sort of thing. Also trying to think of how I am going to tell the press that I disappeared for a few weeks to hide in a hospital room. Hiding from my wife just isn't a good enough answer. And saying I'm hiding because I found out she's having twins sounds even worse."

"Do you know if they're boys or girls yet?" Hiro asked as he settled on a quiz show. It wasn't the same one he'd appeared on, but it didn't matter much to him.

"Well, one is a girl," Touma answered. "Mika told me that when she told me she was having twins. I think Amai would be a good name for a girl. However, we won't know what the other is until they are born. They're fraternal, so it's possible the other could be a boy. What do you think of Tokui for a boy?"

"This is all assuming Mika lets you name even one of them," Yuki pointed out, still typing away.

Touma sighed. "Yes, this is true."

The door opened, and Ryuuichi and K came back into the room, K sitting down on his bed and Ryuuichi sitting on the one Yuki usually slept in. Kumagorou was sitting on the stand between the two beds (Ryuuichi claimed he'd put it there so if he missed anything the rabbit would see it), and he picked up the rabbit and bounced over to K. No one was sure what kind of effect this man had over Ryuuichi, but whatever it was was nothing less than miraculous.

"You never told us what your controversial new book is about, Eiri-san," Touma said after everyone had settled in once again.

Yuki sighed. He usually didn't discuss his new book with anyone not responisble for seeing it published before it was ready to come out, but he decided this time could be an exception. "The main character is a man whose lover is in a coma. His family wants him to forget her and marry a different woman, but he won't move on because he thinks she will wake up. Much of the story is just flashbacks, him reflecting on how they met and ending with how she got to be in a coma."

Everyone thought about this for a second. Hiro was the first to ask the question everyone was thinking of: "How does it end?"

Yuki shrugged and set his computer aside, standing up to leave the room for a cigarette. "I don't know yet. It depends. I told my editor that, and that's why she wasn't too happy."

And with that he left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi finally unfroze. He was compelled to move back to the center of the stage. As he did, the lights came on...to show a familiar parking garage. He swallowed, looking around for anyone else, any actor, no matter who, and dreading who he would find.

All he found were words. He found himself speaking them as the curtain rose. "It was probably the worst day of my life. I lost Yuki, and then later that night, in that parking garage, I was...attacked. When it was all over, I couldn't think straight. All I knew was that everything in my life was falling apart, and if I didn't do something, it would never come back together again..."

Finally, he saw four faces he'd hoped he'd never have to see again: Aizawa Tachi, and the three goons he'd hired to attack him. The orchestra began playing a hard driving beat, and he heard a chorus chanting the words "I want my money back! I want my money back!"

The four men approached him, and he tried to back away, but before they could touch him, he found himself singing. "It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get/Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out," he sang angrilly. He looked at the audience, away from the attackers. "It's always something, there's always something going wrong/That's the only guarantee, that's what this is all about!"

He was surprised to find the other men singing with him as he sang the next lines. "It's a never ending attack, everything's a lie and that's a fact/Life is a lemon and I want my money back!"

One grabbed Shuichi's arm, pinning him against a concrete pillar. "And all the morons and all the stooges with their coins/They're the ones who make the rules, it's not a game, it's just a rout," he sang as the man did so.

"There's desperation, there's desperation in the air/It leaves a stain on all your clothes and no detergent gets it out!" Shuichi cried out, as another of the men tore the arm of his shirt.

The men closed in more, joining him in singing the next verse. "And we're always slipping thru the cracks/Then the movie's over, fade to black/Life is a lemon and I want my money back!"

The voices continued chanting as the men took turns, each hitting him once. He could see a camera flash flashing in his eyes as they did, and he cried out. "I want my money back! I want my money back!"

Suddenly, they all pulled away. The men stood on one side of Shuichi, and Aizawa stood on another, so that Shuichi was standing center-stage.

"What about love?" Aizawa sang.

"It's defective!" the men sang in reponse.

Shuichi added his own response. "It's always breaking in half!"

They continued the pattern, Aizawa singing the question, the men singing "It's defective!" and Shuichi singing the response.

"What about sex?"

"It's defective!"

"It's never built to really last!"

"What about your family?"

"It's defective!"

"All the batteries are shot!"

"What about your friends?"

"They're defective!"

"All the parts are out of stock!"

"What about hope?"

"It's defective!"

"It's corroded and decayed!"

"What about faith?"

"It's defective!"

"It's tattered and it's frayed!"

"What about your Gods?"

"They're defective!"

"They forgot the warranty!"

"What about your town?"

"It's defective!"

"It's a dead end street to me!"

"What about your school?"

"It's defective!"

"It's a pack of useless lies!"

"What about your work?"

"It's defective!"

"It's a crock and then you die!"

"What abour your childhood?"

"It's defective!"

"It's dead and buried in the past!"

"What about your future?"

"It's defective!"

"You can shove it up your ass!"

As the voices began to chant "I want my money back - life is a lemon! I want my money back - life is a lemon, life is a lemon!" the lights dimmed, and nothing was visable on stage to the audience. Shuichi could feel all of the pain of everything that had been done to him that night as it was done to him again during the instrumental solo.

Then the lights came on about half-way through, and he began to sing again. "It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get/Everytime I turn it on, I burn it up and burn it out/It's a never ending attack/Everything's a lie and that's a fact/Life is a lemon and I want my money back/And we're always slipping thru the cracks/Then the movie's over, fade to black!"

Shuichi prepared for the last line. "Life is a lemon and I want my money back!" The men closed in on him as he repeated the last word over and over again. "Back! Back! Back! Back! BAAAACK!!"

The lights went out during the final instrumental solo, and he could feel the men finishing, the only light on stage coming from the camera flash. Finally, the song abruptly ended, and the lights came on to show a very battered and bloodied Shuichi laying on the floor of the parking garage, breathing shallowly.

Then the lights went out again. The curtain dropped, and the pain subsided. But Shuichi could feel himself crying in spite of this....

~Curtain Falls~

End of Act 5

Goo's Note- For those puzzled about when I said I owned a copyright in my disclaimer, I'm as shocked as you are that I haven't plugged my original series yet. It's at http://www26.brinkster.com/spirit27/spirit.htm/.It's an original yaoi series I've been writing for a year and four months now (much longer than I've been into Gravitaiton) and has lots of bishounen, lots of yaoi, lots of angst, and an amazing coincidence in that the main character's band is named Track 13 and in Gravitation each episode is called a "Track" (as in a CD track) and there are 13 episodes. If you go now, I'll love you forever. ^_^


	7. Act 6: I Would Do Anything For Love (But...

Goo's Note- I admit it, I'm meandering now. Anyway, I had two choices when it came to representing Episode 7: I could do another "Yuki loves Shuichi but he ain't gonna tell him except in a song he'd never even LISTEN to let alone sing" scene, or I could dwell on Shuichi pretending he's a girl to try to get Yuki back. (Hell, I even found a song so I could do it.) Trust me: this WAS a tough decision, especially since Shuichi's drag period is something most Gravitation fans don't want to look back on, but it IS significant. (Whether we all want to admit it or not.) So my decision? I did both. Hell, I didn't know WHERE I was going here, so be lucky I'm getting something out so quickly. (Actually, that's not true, because Shuichi is singing both songs in this. Alone.)

Disclaimer- *On the phone* Hello? Yes, I'd like to check out a copyright. Do I own the anime series Gravitation? No? Okay, just checking. Oh...um....I guess I'd like a small pizza, extra cheese, extra pepperoni. *Hangs up and blushes* Wrong number. Anyway, "I'll Be That Girl" is performed by Barenaked Ladies (I slightly changed one line, but not much, I just didn't like how it looked or sounded and it made the scene in this awkward) and was written by Stephen Duffy and Steven Page. "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" was performed by Meat Loaf and written by....well, three guesses. (I cut the coda off at the end because it's not relevant to this and the song is technically over.) And if anyone is wondering what the hell he won't do (trust me, a lot of people don't get it) the coda just explains that when he says that he means he won't ever leave, lie, cheat, or betray the one he is singing to. So there yah go. But this song is neat in that it IS just a guitar and a piano and a singer, while few songs are.

A/N- I don't specify what game their playing, but I'm thinking something like Trivial Pursuit only instead of filling the pie before you can go to the center to win you just have to go around the board and to the center.

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 6: I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)/I'll Be That Girl

Four and a half weeks since Shuichi had entered his coma.

Worry had started to subside. The cast on Shuichi's left arm had been removed, and he was no longer on a resperator, which meant that he was recovering and the chances of another cardiac episode were slim. If he would just wake up then half of his recovery would already be over and he could concentrate on rehabilitation. Doctors had already explained that, if their was no brain damage or if it was minimal, then he would need to learn to walk again and would probably need a brace on his right leg for at least a year after having the cast off. He would also have to wear the neckbrace a little longer, and he had already had surgery to put a metal rod in his spine to keep the four vertibrae in place and until that healed he would have to wear a back brace. And then the fact that he had always been right handed meant he had to learn to do menial tasks with his left hand instead.

But the months of painful physical therapy ahead were the last thing on the minds of the group living in the hospital room. Touma had been keeping a tally of the number of people who had come into the room with an excuse to see them for about four days: 12 nurses had come in just to make sure they didn't need anything, 3 doctors had asked them if they were aware there was a hotel adjoining the hospital, 5 patients had asked for autographs from the various occupants of the room, 9 orderlies had come in with carts of flowers (only to get turned away because there was no room and told to give them to patients that didn't have any flowers), 1 security guard had bravely (and foolishly) told K that it was against hospital policy to have a gun in the building (he promptly ran screaming when K took his gun out from under his pillow, held it up, and asked as innocently as possible "What? This gun?"), and only 4 doctors (one a day) had stopped by to actually check on Shuichi. When Suguru asked what Touma planned to do with the information he had collected, Touma had told him that he would probably use it sue, since it was sad that they could be bothered for trivial things every five minutes but the patient only got checked on once a day.

Right now, aside from keeping a tally of the comings and goings of people in the hospital, four of the occupants were settled in for a board game, set up on K's bed. K and Ryuuichi were sitting on one end, and Hiro and Suguru were sitting on the other, but as it was only a twin-sized bed that meant that the smaller men were practically sitting on the taller men's laps. (Oddly, no one seemed to mind.) What they did seem to mind was that K and Ryuuichi were losing miserably (for the fourth time in a row) and K was not a gracious loser.

Hiro moved his and Suguru's red piece three spaces, as dictated by the die, and landed on a yellow square. K drew a card, read it, and smiled to himself.

"There's no way you'll know this one," he said smugly. "It's an arts and entertainment question."

"We'll see. Just read the question," Hiro ordered.

"All right. What AMERICAN television show was the first to actually show a married couple in the same bed?"

Hiro yawned dramatically. "Mary Kay and Johnny, circa 1954 to 1958. It was also the first syndicated primetime sitcom."

K muttered a particularly strong curse in English and threw down the card, which Hiro put in the back of the box. Suguru handed K the die, and he shook it a little more violently than the game called for, and moved his and Ryuuichi's piece five spaces. It landed on a purple square.

"Grab bag," Hiro announced, picking up the card. "And it's about English phrases! You're in luck!"

It was K's turn to smile smugly as he waited for his question.

"What common saying means to be hippocritical?" Hiro asked.

"Pot calling the kettle black," K said easily.

"Wrong," Hiro said, showing him the card as he went to move K's blue piece back. He felt something cold against his temple, and heard the click of the hammer. He nervously let the piece go and sat up straight again. "But after consulting with the judges we've decided to give it to you."

"That's what I thought," K said, putting his gun back down.

"It's still not enough to win, though," Suguru pointed out, before promptly biting his tongue and hiding his face.

Instead of reaching for his gun, K poked Ryuuichi a bit. "You're a smart guy. Why don't you answer a few of these?"

Ryuuchi shrugged. "I don't really know them. Kumagorou does, though."

K sighed in exhasperation. "Well, then ask him what the answer is."

"I can't. He's not on our team. It'd be cheating."

K rolled his eyes, put Kumagorou in Ryuuichi's lap, and announced "okay, team change. Kumagorou is now on our team."

"Nope, sorry, that'd be cheating," Hiro told him. "You can't change teams in the middle of a game."

"It's a stuffed animal!" K cried.

"Hey!" Ryuuichi shouted back.

"If you get another team member, then so do we," Suguru told K firmly before he and Ryuuichi started arguing over whether Kumagorou was really nothing more than a stuffed animal.

"What?! You're winning! You don't need anyone else!" K cried in outrage.

"If you get Kumagorou, we get Seguchi-san," Suguru announced.

Touma looked up from his notepad, surprised to hear his name. "I'm not getting involved in this. Though if I were to join, I would probably join Ryuuichi-san's team, since they need all the help they can get." He stopped to think for a moment. "Eiri-san, next game do you want to form a team with me? We can probably do better than Mr. K and Ryuuichi-san."

"Oh? So do you think you can beat Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein over there?" K asked, obviously getting very angry.

"I never said that," Touma said, smiling slightly. "I said we could beat you guys. I doubt even Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein could have beaten those two."

K took the pieces off the board and put them in the box, folding the board and putting it away with them. "Game over!"

"Hey! We were still playing!" Hiro fumed, putting the cards into their spot in the box and putting the lid back on.

"Yes, you were. But you're not anymore. If you want to keep playing, then you and the boy wonder can go in the corner and play with each other. And I mean that in more than one sense," K all but growled at them.

Hiro and Suguru looked less than pleased as the got up off the bed and went to their seats to turn on the television.

Yuki stood up, putting his computer aside. "Amusing as all of this is, I really need a cigarette."

"So do I," Hiro announced, following Yuki out of the room.

The people remaining looked at each other for a moment.

"Shouldn't someone go and make sure they don't try to set each other on fire with their lighters?" Suguru asked finally.

Touma shook his head. "No. This hospital has a burn ward."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi could feel a dull ache as he clammored to his feet. The words "Act six" echoed in his head, though he could tell from who or where it came. The pain wasn't really there, he knew, but in his mind he couldn't shake it. The blood and ripped clothes were gone, and instead he was wearing the clothes he had been wearing when he found himself in Hiro's room. The curtain rose, and the lights came on over him, illuminating Hiro's bedroom, the place where he'd made his vow.

He knew there was a monologue coming on. He hated it, but trying to fight it had proven fruitless in the past. Besides, the sooner he said it and got it over with, the sooner it would all be said and done.

"When I woke up the next day at Hiro's," he began. "All I could think about was Yuki. About what I had done for him the night before. About how he had thrown me out. But I knew that I couldn't give up on him. I would do anything to make him love me, and it didn't matter what."

The scenary fell back, as if it were made of cardboard, and mist began to fill the stage. He looked behind him to see Suguru sitting at a piano and Hiro holding his guitar, both wearing their concert clothes. Shuichi looked down and saw that he was also wearing his concert clothes now. A piano solo started, and then the guitar joined. Finally, the introduction ended, and only Suguru was playing as Shuichi joined with his singing.

"And I would do anything for love/I'd run right into hell and back," he sang. "I would do anything for love/I'd never lie to you and that's a fact..."

He walked closer to the edge of the stage. "But I'll never forget the way you feel right now/Oh no, no way/And I would do anything for love/But I won't do that..." He threw his head back. "Oh I won't do that!"

An invisable chorus joined in with him, as well as Hiro on guitar. "I would do anything for love/Oh I would do anything for love!/I would do anything for love/But I won't that...." He backed up further on the stage. "No, I won't do that!"

Suddenly, right where he had been standing, a smoke bomb exploded as the music picked up. When the smoke subsided, Shuichi was still standing at the mic stand, but he wasn't holding the mic.

"Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard/Some days it don't come at all and/These are the days that never end!" He raised his hand. "And some nights you're breathing fire-" Suddenly, fire shot up behind Suguru. "And some nights you're carved in ice-" he brought down his hand, and a jet of water and blue light sprayed behind Hiro. "Some nights you're like nothing I've ever/Seen before or will again!" Both effects disappeared and the stage darkened.

"Oh maybe it's crazy..." he started to walk forward, looking at the stage. "Oh, it's crazy and it's true/I know you can save me/No one else can save me now but you..."

He looked up. "As long as the planets are turning!" Suddenly, a thousand small lights appeared above him. "As long as the stars are burning!/As long as your dreams are coming true/You'd better believe it!"

The lights turned off and the mist continued to roll across the stage. "That I would do anything for love/And I'll be there 'till the final act/I would do anything for love/And I'd take the vow and seal the pact..."

A light suddenly appeared right above him, but he continued to stare at his feet. "But I'll never forgive myself/If we don't go all the way/Tonight..." He walked out of the light, and it shut off, and walked back to the mic stand. "And I would do anything for love/And I would do anything for love!/Oh I would do anything for love/But I won't do that/No I won't do that-"

Suddenly, he was joined by an invisable chorus as another explosion rocked the stage and glitter began to rain down. "I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do that/Oh I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do that/I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do that!"

A piano and guitar solo started, then was joined by the chorus. Shuichi waited for his time to sing again, shaking the glitter of his hair.

He grabbed the microphone when his cue came. "And some days I pray for silence/And somedays I pray for soul..." A light suddenly shined on him. "Some nights I just pray to the god of/Sex and drums and rock and roll..."

Suddenly, another voice interrupted him, taking the song. He looked at the edge of the stage, where he had once been standing, and saw Yuki standing there. "And some nights I lose the feeling/And some nights I lose control/Some nights I just lose it all when I/Watch you dance and the thunder rolls!"

Shuichi approached Yuki, who backed away just as another smoked bomb exploded, seperating them. Yuki still sang. "And maybe I'm lonely/That's all I'm qualified to be/But there's just one and only/One and only promise I can keep..."

He walked through the smoke and approached Shuichi. "As long as the wheels are turning/As long as the fires are burning/As long as your prayers are coming true/You'd better believe it!"

Shuichi took the next verse. "And I would do anything for love!/And you know it's true and that's a fact!/And I would do anything for love!/And there'd never be no turning back!" 

He took Yuki's hand and leaned in close to his ear as he sang softly. "And I'll never do it better than I do it with you/So long.../So long..." He let Yuki's hand go and took a step back. "And I would do anything for love!/Oh I would do anything for love!/I would do anything for love!/But I won't do that!/No, No, No I won't do that!"

The chorus joined him again as he ran behind Yuki. "I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do that!" He ran to beside him. "Oh I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do that!" He ran in front of him. "I would do anything for love/Anything you've been dreaming of/But I just won't do-"

Yuki put his hand on Shuichi's cheek to interrupt him. "And I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life/No way..."

Shuichi finished what he had been singing. "I would do anything for love/Oh I would do anything for love/I would do anything for love/But I won't do that..." He embraced Yuki. "No, I won't do that..."

The lights shut off, and the curtain fell, and once again Shuichi found himself holding nothing but air.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Two more days passed without incident. Other than Hiro accidentally burning Yuki on the hand with a cigarette (which he swore was an accident) nothing too terribly eventful had happened except Hiro and Suguru had announced they were also going to live out of the hospital room and were now sharing a sleeping bag on the floor just below the television, which, though in the way, was the only available place to put a sleeping bag. (They claimed they were sharing because there wasn't enough room for two sleeping bags, but everyone doubted that.)

It was now one in the morning. K was asleep on his bed, his shirt almost completely removed and Ryuuchi curled up against him, his ear over his heart, also fast asleep and clutching Kumagorou. Hiro and Suguru were nestled together in the sleeping bag, their faces barely visable as the drawstring at the top had been drawn almost completely closed. Touma was dressed in the black silk pajamas he usually wore to bed and asleep in his bed. The television was on, but the volume was so low that no one could hear it unless they strained to. Only Yuki was still awake, stretched out on his bed, wearing his black sweatpants and an open dark blue shirt and his glasses, typing furiously on his laptop.

At least, Yuki thought he was the only one awake. He didn't notice Touma shift positions, stretch out, then stand and pad softly over to Yuki's bed. He didn't even notice that Touma was looking over his shoulder until he cleared his throat, the sudden noise causing him to nearly drop his computer and his glasses to fall forward slightly.

"Don't do that, please and thank you," he said evenly as he readjusted his glasses and continued typing.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Touma asked. "You don't sleep very much anymore. That can't be healthy."

"I sleep enough," was the curt reply. "Besides, since when have I worried about my health?"

Touma just sighed. "Eiri-san, I know you're worried about him, but you don't sleep, unless people bring you food you live off nothing but coffee and cigarettes, and you won't stop working. I know continuing to work is your way of coping, but have you given any thought to what you will do if he doesn't make it?"

"Call Tatsuha and tell him to make way because I'm joining him in becoming a monk."

"Be serious, Eiri-san."

Yuki sighed and saved what he was writing, turning off his laptop and setting it aside and removing his glasses. "I wasn't joking. Not completely, anyway." He paused for a moment, glancing at the television. An old black and white sitcom was on, and he could hear the faint sound of a very fake laugh track. "This will be the second time I've lost someone I cared deeply about. And the second time it will have been my fault. If that isn't a sign that I wasn't ever meant to be happy then I don't know what is."

Touma's expression softened a bit as he sat at the edge of the bed. "Neither time was your fault, Eiri-san. The first was mine, and this time was the fault of a stranger who is now paying dearly for what he did. And there is no reason why you shouldn't have a chance to be happy. You are just as entitled to happiness as anyone else. Just...maybe these are signs that those specific relationships weren't meant to be. That doesn't mean that everyone who gets close to you is going to die until you find the right person, of course."

"Then what does it mean? Because that's certainly how I see it," Yuki said softly, more to himself. "I think I'll just stay celibate. Become a hermit. Lock myself in my house and become a recluse. Send my next novel off to the publisher, collect the royalties, hire help to get my groceries for me, and never leave for anything or anyone. That's the only way people will stay safe."

Touma reached out and pulled Yuki close to him. "Don't do that, Eiri-san. You are not to blame. You are not cursed. You shouldn't deprive yourself of happiness just because something bad happened."

Yuki closed his eyes, just enjoying being close to Touma. He'd always felt safe when he was around, like nothing and no one could ever harm him. It was that comfort and security that made him so close to Touma in the first place, but sometimes he suspected Touma's interest in him was more than just brotherly concern. He could feel Touma's fingers threading through his unkempt hair, and opened his eyes, moving his head up slightly so he was looking at the older man.

"You know, Eiri-san, no matter how this all turns out, when it's over we both have to face the prospect of returning home. Only now I have no home to return to," Touma said in a voice that implied he was going somewhere with this line of reasoning.

"Well, you have enough money and resources. It shouldn't be too hard for you to find a new place," Yuki told him, mostly trying to keep from finding out what he was thinking.

"No, it wouldn't," Touma agreed. "But...if Shuichi doesn't make it, then we'll both be alone. I was thinking...maybe I could live with you, if that is the situation, for a little while, until we both get used to being on our own."

"I fail to see how being together would help us adjust to being alone," Yuki pointed out. He gently pushed Touma away and leaned back in his bed. "And anyway, I don't think that would work. Especially since Mika is my sister. Having you living with me would be like stabbing her in the back."

"No, Eiri-san, you aren't seeing what I am getting at," Touma continued. He leaned forward some more so that their lips brushed against each other as he spoke. "I want to be with you, Eiri-san. Maybe Shindou-san wasn't meant to be, but maybe you and I are. You are the person I love the most in the entire world, and you always were. I didn't marry Mika-san for you, but I stayed with her for you." He pressed his lips against Yuki's. Yuki was too shocked to push him away, and they held that way for a moment before Touma tried to force his tongue into Yuki's mouth, his hand sliding under his shirt and brushing over a nipple. This time Yuki pushed him away more forcefully.

"No, Seguchi," Yuki said at last. Touma seemed surprised to hear him call him that. "I don't love you that way, and I don't think I ever will. You are like an older brother to me, and that's all I want to see you as. Please go back into bed and forget that tonight happened so that I can still see you as my older brother and nothing more."

Touma just stood there beside Yuki's bed, blinking. Yuki was sure that he saw tears brimming his eyes. He sighed and shook his head.

"Seguchi....Touma....Shuichi might not die. You are assuming he will. If he does, heavens forbid, my defenses will be down. You're right in that I don't want to be alone, and I know that you don't either. I might ask you to live with me. And I would really appreciate it if you didn't take advantage of that and refused, because while you might see something between you and me working, I don't, and it'd hurt too much if I lost you, too. I wouldn't survive that. Yes, Touma, I do love you, but I don't want to be your lover, and I never will," Yuki told him cooly. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. "But if Shuichi survives, you are more than welcome to stay with us for a few days until you can get settled in somewhere else. But if you try to interfere in our life together, I reserve the right to throw you out. Everyone knows I don't like it when guests overstay their welcome."

Touma walked back over to his bed. After he was settled in and covered up, he turned to look at Yuki again. "Eiri-san...if you had never met Shindou-san....would I have had a chance?"

Yuki shook his head, lighting a cigarette, forgetting where he was. "No. And that's why I want you to stop holding his relationship with me against him. Understand?"

Touma only nodded slightly and pulled his blanket up to his chin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi was definately starting to hate this show now, not just because it was forcing him to live through moments of his life that he really didn't want to go through again, but also because it kept teasing him, it seemed. He just wanted to get the show over with no, whether he lived or not. 

He looked down at his clothes...and blushed. He was wearing his sailor-style outfit that he had worn to try to win Yuki back. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Much to his horror, the curtain rose, and behind him was a set of outside Yuki's old apartment building. The Yuki actor that loved to tease him so was standing there.

And, as if to add insult to injury, he also felt another monologue coming on, as well as another horrible song. He looked at the Yuki actor, then his clothes, then the audience. He smiled nervously, curtsied (against his will) and began to speak at last.

"Well, when I vowed to do anything to win back Yuki, I did mean everything," he said, lifting the corner of his skirt a tiny bit. "I thought that he didn't like me because I was a man, so that if I impersonated a girl he would want me back. Boy, was I wrong..."

The music started, and Shuichi took his position in front of Yuki before he started to sing. "If I were with you/And how I wish I were with you/All the things I'd do/To make myself turn blue..."

He reached up to the scarf around his neck. "I supposed/I'd start by removing all my clothes.." he pulled off the scarf. "Tie my panyhose/Around my neck..." He put the scarf around Yuki's shoulders, then grabbed a nearby streetlight, holding both of his hands behind him and leaning against it.

"I'll be that girl!" he sang. "And you would be right over..." He beconed Yuki closer, and he just shook his head. "If I were a field/You would be in clover/If I were the sun/You would be in shadow/And if I had a gun/There'd be no tomorrow..."

Shuichi let the pole go. "If you will not have me as myself/Perhaps as someone else," he sang, gesturing at his clothes. "Perhaps to you/I'd be worth noticing..."

He wrapped his arms around Yuki's neck. "Then even a eunuch won't resist/The magic of a kiss/From such as me..."

He leaned in as if he was going to kiss Yuki, then suddenly pulled away, grabbing the pole and spinning around as he sang. "I'll be that girl!" He let go and flew into Yuki. "And you would be right over/And if I were a field/You would be in clover." He pulled away and backed up a few steps. "If I were the sun/You would be in shadow..." He turned away and walked further away from Yuki.

He kicked out his foot, causing his shoe to fly off, narrowly missing Yuki. "It's time to kick off your shoes/Learn how to choose sadness..." He walked over and tugged off Yuki's jacket, throwing it. "It's time to throw off those chains/Addle our brains/With madness!"

He grabbed Yuki's arm and moved him to the street light. "We've got plenty of time/To grow old and die!/But when at last your beauty's faded/You'll be glad I have waited for you!"

He braced his feet on the cement block holding the streetlight in place and put his hands on Yuki's shoulders. "When you're done/With being beautiful and young..." He leaned in and half-whispered and half-sang into Yuki's ear. "When that course has run/Then come to me..."

He let Yuki go and jumped to the ground in front of him. "I'll be that girl!/And you would be right over..." He pulled Yuki to him again. "And if I were a field/You would be in clover!" He let Yuki go and grabbed the pole, spinning around. "And if I were the sun/You would be in shadow!" He let go of the pole and leaned against it. "And if I had a gun/There'd be no tomorrow!/There'd be no tomorrow!/There'd be no tomorrow!"

The music faded out, and the Yuki actor only snorted and walked off the stage. The curtain came down with a thud, and Shuichi looked down, relieved that he was no longer wearing the dress. Well, at least that part was over.

"Get ready for act seven!" Touma shouted from off stage.

Shuichi actually found himself groaning.

~Curtain Falls~

~End of Act 6~

Goo's Note- Just wanted to get a few things clear:

1.) I have nothing against Touma. I have nothing against Mika. I have nothing against them together. What I am going for is that while Shuichi is in his coma everything is changing radically, hence the strange couples forming, Touma making the moves on Yuki (which I honestly think he would have done had Shuichi not gotten involved), and Touma and Mika splitting.

2.) As I've said, I don't support HiroxSuguru as a rule, and I think it's a couple people made up just as an excuse to give every remotely cute guy in the show a partner. But when the only alternative is HiroxAyaka...well....*Holds up HiroxSuguru banner* Go HiroxSuguru!

3.) Yes, I have a problem with Ayaka. Even after what she did in episode 7, she still falls with Relena from Gundam Wing and Sora from Digimon in the Hall of Annoying Anime Bitches That Deserve Long and Painful Deaths. I don't care who Hiro ends up with, just NOT her. He can do better than that pretentious bitch. Also, considering that this is a yaoi series, I think Murakaki-sempai (I am a manga writer/creator, so I can safely call her a superior in the same line of work that I am in) specially formulated her to not be likable.

4.) I think I am going to skip Nittle Grasper getting back together and the million albums for a date deal, partially because I don't have any songs for those and because I want to wrap this up so I can move on, as I have other inspirations and this is getting too long as it is. So the next chapter is going to be Yuki going to New York and Shuichi's feelings about that and then the finalé. I know I am skipping a lot, but I'm stretching now and I don't want to do EVERYTHING that happens in the show, since most of it is important and you've all seen the show and know what happens. At least, I hope you have if you are reading this...

5.) The "I'll Be that Girl" scene has been the easiest musical scene for me to write so far, God help me...(I guess that's what happens when you add crossdressers liberally in your own series.)

PLUG!! Go to http://www26.brinkster.com/spirit27/spirit.htm.You will like it. I garentee it. (Okay, I wouldn't put money on that, but even non-yaoi fans like it, and that's saying something.)


	8. Act 7: Don't Let It End/Rock And Roll Dr...

Goo's Note- Sorry it took me so long to get this out, but I was inspired in my series and I couldn't put it off any longer since I was in a slump and needed to take whatever inspiration hit me. I am drawing this to a close, and I don't know if I will write more Gravitation fanfiction after I am done. (I have an idea for a new fic, but I doubt I will do anything with it.) Sorry if the ending seems rushed, abbreviated, or anything else, but like I said, I just want to get this done now. And besides, abbreviated or not it's the longest chapter by far. This also explains what happened to Ayaka in my fic. I'm sorry, but I hate loose ends. (And sorry chibiukyou, but she's alive and kicking in my fic, even if she is a bitch.)

Disclaimer- Gravitation is still not mine. The only copyright I own is for my series, and even then people are always telling me that my characters belong to them *Glares at chibiukyou, who is holding tightly onto Shannon.* And as for the final songs, "Don't Let It End" was performed by Styx and written by Dennis DeYoung and "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" was performed by Meat Loaf and written by...drumroll please....JIM STEINMAN!!! (Yes, it's true, I listened to the same three or four CDs while writing this. So sue me, the songs work.) "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is my absolute all time favorite song and has been since I was about 10, and pretty much the reason why I wrote this fic. SAVOR IT!!!

Other Notes- If you are confused over whether I am using manga or anime continuity, I am using anime. The only detail from the manga I drew from was Touma and Yuki's relationship, and even then I think this IS in the anime, just not explored as deeply as in the manga. Also, it IS true that Sakano approached Bad Luck after a school talent contest to offer them a job at NG in the manga, only Shuichi was 18, not 17. (Also, this was because Yuki and Touma had attended one of Bad Luck's concerts before then and told him to do it.)

The Life of Shindou Shuichi: A Retrospective in Song

Written by A Girl Named Goo

Act 7: Don't Let In End/Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through

~Curtain Rises~

It was now over six weeks since Shuichi had entered his coma.

At this point, because of Shuichi's steady recovery, no one doubted Shuichi would live. They just didn't know if he would wake up. But most of them were willing to wait, anyway.

Ryuuichi was busying himself by using crayons and markers to draw on Shuichi's casts. K was cleaning his gun, Touma was writing down lyrics again, Yuki was still typing away, and Hiro and Suguru had left to get dinner. Though they usually took turns making food runs, Hiro and Suguru found themselves getting roped into the task far more often than they would have liked.

K put his holster back on and put his gun in it, standing up and stretching. "Ryuuichi. Come on."

"Where?" Ryuuichi asked, putting the finishing touches on his portrait of Kumagorou on the cast on Shuichi's right leg. He picked up the stuffed rabbit to show him the picture and see if it met approval.

"Our turn for the shower. I want to get it done before dinner," K explained, though he enjoyed watching Ryuuichi doodle on the plaster. It was the most relaxed and carefree thing he'd done since he'd moved into the hospital.

Ryuuichi puts his crayons back into their box and capped his markers, putting Kumagorou on the nightstand next to Shuichi's bed. "Keep an eye on him while I'm gone," Ryuuichi instructed the rabbit. "If anything happens I want to hear about it!"

And with that, Ryuuichi wrapped his arms around K's waist and followed him out the door. Now only Touma, Yuki, and Shuichi were alone in the room. This was the first time since that night that Yuki had been alone with the older man.

"Ryuuichi-san seems to be getting better," Touma observed, if only to make small talk.

"Hm," was all Yuki said as he kept typing.

"I think Mr. K helped him a lot. It's always better to have someone when you are going through something difficult. I think that's what happened with Nakano-san and Fujisaki-san. And I think that's why Ryuuichi-san is doing so much better. Maybe you being here will help Shuichi recover faster," Touma continued. "And, of course, I am here for you if you need anything."

Yuki sighed and stopped typing, saving his document and taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Something Sakuma said is bothering me."

"Oh? What did he say?" Touma asked, geniunely interested. Ryuuichi hadn't said much that was relevant during this entire crisis.

"When Shuichi first went into his coma. He said that he thought Shuichi was dreaming," Yuki explained. "Shuichi has nightmares. He doesn't like people to know about them. He won't even tell me what they're about. He'll just come into my room late at night, crying and shaking like a little kid, asking to get into bed with me. Of course I act like a prick and tell him to go away, but then I give in and tell him he can sleep in my bed if he doesn't touch me. I sleep on my stomach, and usually when I wake up in the morning he's asleep on my back. Those are the best mornings for both of us. And I still made him sleep on the couch."

"Do you think he's having a nightmare right now?" Touma asked, wondering why he had suddenly confided in him this way.

"I'm almost sure he is. He's been in a coma for a month and a half now. That's a long time to have a nightmare."

Touma put down his notepad and removed his own glasses. "Eiri-san, we've been here the entire time. If your presence alone is enough to make him not have nightmares and all of his friends are present then I doubt he is having nightmares as awful as you say."

Yuki only replaced his glasses and continued typing. Realizing Yuki wasn't going to speak again, Touma sighed and also continued his work. They were both surprised to hear a phone ring.

"I thought you shut that off," Yuki muttered.

"It's my emergency one, the one that K got me on in America," Touma explained, taking a phone from a bag on the floor. He looked at the screen, quirked an eyebrow, then pressed the button to connect. "Moshi moshi?" There was a few minutes of silence. Touma first looked shocked, then worried. "I'll be right down there. Hold on." He terminated the call and put the phone back into his bag.

"Who was that?" Yuki asked, watching Touma frantically search for his shoes.

"It was Mika. Or, to be more accurate, it was Mika's doctor. That number is listed with my name for her emergency contact," Touma explained. "She's downstairs. There's been an accident. It seems she fell down the stairs and now she might go into premature labor. The babies aren't due for another two months. There's a chance she could lose one or both of them."

And with that Touma darted out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi was standing on the stage alone. Touma's voice had announced act seven, but now it was speaking again. "Let's skip ahead a bit now, to the first time you and Yuki were truly apart."

Well, if Shuichi ever wanted more proof that this wasn't the real Touma talking, the fact that he had called Yuki "Yuki" instead of "Eiri-san" was all the proof he needed.

Shuichi walked in the dark until he found what felt like a bed. He instinctively laid down in it, and the curtain rose. He sighed an prepared for his monologue. "Yuki ended up going to New York. I didn't know where he was or if he had left me for good. I thought I had finally said the only thing that ruined everything we had. I was so lonely and depressed..."

The music began, and Shuichi didn't have to wait very long for his cue to sing as the lights turned on. "What can I do/When pictures of you/Still make me cry..." he sang. He picked up a photograph of Yuki on the nightstand and looked at it. "Trying to live without your love/It's so hard to do." He put the picture down. "Some nights I wake up/I look at your pillow/Hoping that I'll see you there..." He looked at the empty pillow next to his.

He stood up and walked away from the bedroom set as it spun around and showed their living room. "But I get up each day/Not much to say/I've no where to go!" He looked down at the stage. "Loneliness fills me up inside/'Cause I'm missing you."

The music started to pick up. "So if you give us a chance to remember..." he looked up at the cieling. "The love we had once together!/Wait and see!" He threw his arms out. "Time is all that we really need!/I'm praying you don't say no/I mean to tell you..."

The set fell away, and the Bad Luck was standing behind him. Invisable back-up singers joined him. "Don't let it end!" they sang with him. "Baby, we could have so much more!/Don't let it end!/Honey please, don't walk out that door!"

Shuichi stepped to the end of the stage and began to sing alone. "I'll telling you, baby/I've made my mistakes/But I'll make you this promise/To do what it takes..." He put his hand in a fist and punched the air as he sang the next line. "I'll be there protect you..." he wrapped his arms around himself. "And hold you tight." He point at the audience. "You've got my lovin', baby, every single night!"

"Don't let it end!" the back-up singers sang.

"I'm begging you, don't let it end this way," Shuichi sang back.

"Don't let it end!" he sang with the bac- up singers. "I'm begging you, don't let it end this way!" He held the last word, then abruptly stopped as an instrumental solo began. The set began to appear again, concealing the band. He walked back into the living room set.

"Don't let it end!" he sang. "Baby, we could have so much more!/Don't let it end/Honey please don't walk out that door!"

Shuichi dropped to his knees. "Don't let it end!/I'm begging you, don't let it end this way!"

He got to his feet. "Don't let it end!/I'm begging you, don't let it end this way!" The music started to die down. "Oh, no. No no no..."

The lights shut off again, and Shuichi sang softly as the music faded. "What will I do/If you say we're through?/Honey, don't let it end/This way....."

The music faded out, and the curtain fell. Shuichi expected the lights to shut off, but instead more turned on. Everyone who had been in the wings walked out, wearing black cloaks but with the hoods down so that their faces were visable.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Shuichi cried, trying to back away.

"It's time for the final act," the Yuki actor said.

"It's time to make your choice," the Hiro actor added.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was now exactly six and a half weeks since Shuichi had entered his coma.

The group in the hospital room had once again assembled with the exception of Touma, who had been gone for at least 14 hours now. Yuki was worried about his sister, but when he had went downstairs to find out her condition he was told no one knew anything yet.

Finally, after all the waiting and worrying, Touma walked into the room. He looked exhausted, but he had a small smile on his face.

"How's Mika?" Yuki asked immediately.

"She's great. The damage wasn't as bad as they originally thought. She broke her leg, but she'll recover," Touma explained. "Now, Yuki, want to come with me to see your neice and nephew?"

Everyone widened their eyes. Yuki was stunned. He quickly regained his composure and stood up, nodding. "Yes, I would."

"You're all welcome to come along, if you'd like," Touma offered.

K and Ryuuichi stood, as did Suguru. But Hiro stayed put.

"You guys go. I'm staying here with Shuichi. Maybe a little later I'll go down and have a look," Hiro explained.

The rest followed Touma out into the hall and to an elevator. Touma pressed a button, and everyone waited. The elevator stopped at each floor, an inconvenience to say the least, especially since on one floor a nurse got on, saw Yuki, and all but fainted, before fumbling with a pen and asking for him to autograph her smock. Yuki, who originally would have refused, did as she had requested.

The nurse looked at Yuki again before the elevator stopped at the floor the NICU was on. "You are sooo much more handsome in person than you are on your bio picture," she observed. "Is it true you're here because of Shindou Shuichi?"

Yuki ignored her and walked past her into the hallway and continued to follow Touma. Finally, they stopped in front of a window.

"You'll have to stand here," Touma said. "They're both in incubators in the NICU. The doctors said they should be all right in a month or so, but Tokui is younger and smaller so he is having a bit more trouble getting healthy. I'll bring them around here so you can see."

"Mika actually let you name them?" Yuki asked in disbelief.

"Not voluntarilly. She was on painkillers and couldn't even think of her own name, and they needed names for the birth certificates, so I gave them mine. Chances are Mika will kill me when she finds out, but she can always have them changed. Now, just stand there for a second." And with that, he disappeared into the doors leading into the NICU.

It was about five minutes before Touma reappeared on the other side of the glass, wearing scrubs. He walked up to two incubators, one containing a small baby wearing nothing but a diaper and a pink cap and hooked up to many wires and a resperator, and the other had an even smaller baby with a blue cap. He began to push the pink one up to the window, and a nurse wearing scrubs pushed the other.

Ryuuichi all but squealed when he saw the babies. Then he turned and looked up at K. "They're so little. Are they sick?"

"They were born too early, Ryuuichi," K explained. "They'll get better."

Touma had disappeared from being on the other side of the glass. He suddenly came through the doors, sans scrubs. "Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked. "The girl is Amai. The boy is Tokui." He suddenly smiled proudly. "Amai looks like me. Same hair color, same eye color." Then he looked over at Yuki. "However, Tokui is going to grow up to look just like his uncle."

"Poor kid," Yuki muttered. He was still staring at the pair of tiny babies. Suddenly, the two incubators were wheeled away by two nurses.

"Time to go back up and visit our other sickie," K announced, heading back to the elevator, Ryuuichi still firmly attached to him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shuichi looked at the robed figures. He wanted to back away, but it seemed they were surrounding him. Only two dim lights were shining down on them, and fog was crawling all over the stage. Music was playing as the figures closed in. 

They all sang in unison first. "Ooooh...."

Finally, the Touma actor started singing.

"You can't run away forever/But there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start," he sang.

K sang next. "You want to shut out the night/You want to shut down the sun/You want to shut away the pieces of a broken heart..."

Yuki took the next line. "Think of how we lay down together/We'd be listening to the radio so loud and so strong..."

"Every golden nugget coming like a gift to the Gods/Someone must have blessed us when he gave us those songs..." Hiro said at last.

Suddenly they all started to sing. "I treasure your love/I never want to lose it/And you've been through the fires of hell/And I know you've got the ashes to prove it/I treasure your love/I wanna show you how to use it/And you've been through a lot of pain in the dirt/And I know you've got the scars to prove it..."

Ryuuichi stepped forward to sing next. "Remember everything that I've told you/And I'm telling you again that it's true/When you're alone and afraid/And you're completely amazed/To find there's nothing anybody can do..."

"Keep on believing! And you'll discover, baby!" they all sang out.

"There's always something magic!" Shuichi found himself singing.

"There's always something magic..." the other parroted.

"There's always something new!" Shuichi sang uncertainly.

"New...." the others sang.

"And when you really really need it-" Shuichi started, then was joined by the others. "The most/That's when rock and roll dreams come through!"

Then he was along again. 'The beat is yours forever!"

"The beat is yours forever..." the other sang.

"The beat is always true!" Shuichi sang out.

"True..."

"And when you really really need it-" Shuichi started again, and was joined by the others again. "The most/That's when rock and roll dreams come through..."

"For you..." Shuichi finished.

There was an instrumental solo, and all of the actors changed their positions around Shuichi. For the first time he noticed the curtain was raised...and no one was sitting in the audience.

"One upon a time was a backbeat/Once upon a time all the chords came to life," Suguru sang.

"And the angels had guitars even before they had wings/If you hold on to a chorus you can get through the night," Hiro and Suguru sang together.

Suddenly everyone was singing again. "I treasure your love/I never want to lose it/And you've been through the fires of hell/And I know you've got the ashes to prove it/I treasure your love/I wanna show you how to use it/And you've been through a lot of pain in the dirt/And I know you've got the scars to prove it..."

"Remember everything that I've told you," Mika sang.

"'Cause I'm telling you again that it's true," Sakano added.

"You're never alone 'cause you can put on the phones/And let the drummer tell your heart what to do," Yuki finished.

"Keep on believing! And you'll discover, baby!" they all sang simultaneously.

"There's always something magic!" Shuichi sang again.

"There's always something magic...." the others sang.

"There's always something new!"

"New...."

"And when you really really need it the most, that's when rock and roll dreams come through!" Shuichi sang. "The beat is yours forever!"

"The beat is yours forever..."

"The beat is always true!"

"True...."

"And when you really really need it the most, that when rock and roll dreams come through/For you!/Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!" Shuichi finished.

As the music continued to play, Mika, Touma, and Suguru sang "The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

Suddenly, Mika stopped singing and looked at Shuichi. "It's time to make your decision!"

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"Does the show end now, or does it continue?" Touma asked.

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"Do you live, or do you die?" Hiro asked.

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"I want to live..."

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"I want to live!"

"The beat is yours forever..."

"That's when rock and roll dreams come through...."

"I WANT TO LIVE!!!"

They were still singing as Shuichi jumped off the staged and began to run for the end of the theatre. The narrow path seemed to stretch on and on, and the door grew further and further. Finally, he lept and felt his hand come in contact with the door. He threw it open, only to be blinded by a brilliant white light....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was exactly six and a half weeks since Shuichi had entered his coma.

It was mid-afternoon, and Ryuuichi was playing "go fish" against Suguru, Hiro was playing guitar, Yuki was typing, K was reloading his gun, and Touma was downstairs visiting his children.

Everyone was caught off guard when the EKG began to beep out of control. Shuichi began to thrash wildly in his bed, and at first everyone thought he was having a seizure. Then he began to cry out, ever so softly, "live....wanna live...I want to live..."

Then he went perfectly still, and he stopped crying out. Everyone had crowded around his bed, wondering what was going to happened. Ever so slowly, while everyone held their breath, familiar bright violet eyes opened.

K rushed out of the room to tell a doctor what was happening. At first everyone was too stunned to say anything. Yuki was the first to get himself together.

"Shuichi?" he asked softly.

"Yuki..." Shuichi whispered hoarsely.

Everyone started breathing then. He recognized Yuki. It was Shuichi. But that didn't mean he wasn't brain damaged.

A doctor rushed into the room and forced the crowd around the bed away. He then began to ask Shuichi simple questions, which, though his voice was hoarse and stuttering slightly, he managed to answer. He took out a flashlight, flashed it into his eyes, then pocketed it.

"Brain damage is minamal. I don't know if the stutter is permenant or not."

"Can he sing with it?" Ryuuichi asked softly.

The doctor shrugged. "Most likely. Speech and song are controlled by two different parts of the brain. If he slightly damaged the part that registers speech I don't see any reason why he can't sing if that part isn't damaged." He looked down at Shuichi. "Tell me, how are you feeling?"

"I h-hurt..." Shuichi choked out. "Everything hurts. I can't...move."

"Sounds like your muscles have atrophied a bit. It happens when patients are in a coma for an extended period of time," the doctor explained. "Nothing some rehab can't fix. I'll get you some painkillers."

The doctor left the room, and the crowd (as well as K) reformed. Shuichi's eyes darted around, looking at everyone. He finally looked down, and visably jumped when he saw his right arm.

"My arm? What happened to my a-arm?" he choked out.

Hiro touched the bandages on what was left of it. "They had to cut it off. Do you remember what happened, Shuichi? You were hit by a car. You almost died."

"Car...." Shuichi whispered. "Blue car..." He looked up at Yuki. "I didn't bring you your ci-cigarettes. You're not mad, are you?"

Those words hurt Yuki more than anyone in the room would ever know. Yuki just shook his head. "No, I'm not mad. Get some rest."

"H-how long?" Shuichi asked.

"You were in a coma for six and a half weeks today," K supplied.

"Yuki..." Shuichi whispered. He leaned back on his pillow, and his eyes closed.

"Shuichi," Yuki said in a tone of voice that sounded desperate.

"So tired...hurts so bad...need sl-sleep..."

The doctor came in and replaced the IV drip.

"Doctor, he wants to sleep. Should we let him?" Hiro asked, worried.

"He's understandably tired. Being in a coma isn't like being asleep, you know. Plus he's probably in an awful lot of pain. Let him rest for a while," the doctor ordered before leaving the room.

"Yuki..." Shuichi whispered again. Yuki took his hand, and Shuichi fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three days later Shuichi was returning to his old self. Though he wasn't well enough to go home yet, he was already sitting up, eating, smiling, and talking. Always talking....

Hiro was the only one in the room with Shuichi that day. Suguru had went alone to get food (he'd promised to sneak in some "real food" for Shuichi), Ryuuichi had begged K to take him downstairs so he could see the babies again, Yuki had stepped out for a smoke, and Touma had went with K and Ryuuichi because he never got tired of showing off his twins.

"Was I really out of it for six and a ha-half weeks?" Shuichi asked. Hiro nodded, and Shuichi took a bite from his sugar-free strawberry Jell-O, trying not to cringe. He was using his spoon left-handed, which was very awkward for him. "Wow. It felt like less time than that..."

"What did?" Hiro asked. "Your coma?"

"Sort of," Shuichi confirmed. He forced himself to take another bite, then pushed the disgusting desert away. "We've been best friends for a l-long time, right?"

"Last time I checked," Hiro agreed.

"So if I tell you something, do you promise to be o-open minded about it?"

"Sure."

Shuichi looked down at the tray with the remnants of his meal on it. "I had a near-death experience, I think."

"Um...excuse me?"

"Just what I said. Only it wasn't like those people who say they saw heaven or hell. It was...this really big p-play. A musical, actually. And there were a-actors playing you and everyone else. Yuki, Seguchi-san, Fujisaki, K, Sakuma-san, even Mika-san and Ai-Aizawa. And you were all s-singing. And you told me that I would get to choose if I live or die after the show."

"Was I a good singer?" Hiro asked, skeptical but curious.

"No. And not a very good actor, either. But a great g-guitar player."

Hiro stopped to think for a moment. "I've seen a lot of things in my life. I believe there's some kind of afterlife. But a near death experience where you are in a musical? That's a new one..."

"You don't believe me..." Shuichi said with obvious disappointment.

"I didn't say that! I believe that's what you saw in your coma. I mean, you can't make something like that up. But I don't know if it's a near-death experience or if it was just a dream," Hiro explained.

"Neither do I," Shuichi confessed. "I mean, what if I had decided to die? Would I have w-woken up anyway, or would I have died? And the things I felt and saw....they seemed too real to be a dream. In d-dreams you don't feel."

"This is true," Hiro conceded. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"So a lot changed while I was out," Shuichi said to change the subject.

"Right."

"What's going on with Sakuma-san and M-Mr. K?"

"No one knows. Sakuma-san nearly had a nervous break down when you were first brought here. He had to be sedated quite a few times. Then Mr. K took him to his apartment, and he insists nothing happened but Sakuma-san had a complete turnaround. Whatever happened is between those two," Hiro explained. "Though, strictly between you and me, Mr. K told me one night that Sakuma-san is very good in bed, but insists he knew that before all of this happened."

"And what about you and Fujisaki?"

Hiro crossed his legs and sighed. "I don't know. I mean, we had to work hard as Bad Luck without you. At least five times more interviews and press conferences, and then we had to go to the board meetings...well, we were there. We needed someone for support. We leaned on each other. The rest is, as they say, history."

"But whatever happened to Ayaka?" Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Ayaka for a while before his accident, either.

"Ayaka..." Hiro sighed. It was obvious this was going to be painful. "About four months before your accident I went to Kyoto to ask her father if I could marry her. Her father was impressed by my intelligence and my money, but my career left him less than pleased. And the fact that I never graduated from high school- how he found that out, I'll never know- made it so that the two things I had going for me were pretty much worthless. He told Ayaka she didn't have his blessing, and moreover, he already had someone else in mind who he had arranged for as soon as he found out Yuki Eiri had no intention of marrying her. I expected her to tell her father what's what and we'd get married without his blessing. Instead, she turned to me, said 'so I guess this is it...', gave me a kiss on the cheek, and that was the last I saw of her. She married the other guy and that was that."

Shuichi could feel tears in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I mean, true, I never really liked Ayaka, but you did, and I always come to you when I have a problem with Yuki no matter how small it is. Didn't you trust me?"

"On your first remark, you didn't like Ayaka and I still don't like Yuki, so we're even there. Though I guess now would be a good time to tell him I don't honestly blame him for your accident and that I just needed someone to vent my frustrations on..." Hiro stopped and smiled slightly. "But the reason I didn't tell you about Ayaka isn't because I didn't trust you or didn't think you'd care. I thought you would care too much, in fact. I wanted to wait until I had started to feel better before I told you. You're an emotional person. When you have a problem with Yuki, you come to me, I make you feel better, you go home, and everything is peachy again for the time being. I don't like the fact that Yuki upsets you so often and I think you could do better, but you don't want to. For some reason I can't begin to fathom you adore Yuki, and from what I've seen while you were in your coma he seems to care for you just as much, even if he has a hell of a way of showing it. But then I have a problem where my only choices were to brood over it for the rest of my life or move on. If I told you, then you would have felt bad for me, and not only would it have been hard for me to move on, but then you would have been upset over something beyond your control, and everyone knows when you're upset you don't work. So yeah, it was hard. It was painful. It still hurts. But I'm moving on. There's life after Ayaka, and that's what matters. Besides, if she's able to throw me away so easily I guess I don't need her." He stopped again, realizing he was rambling. "Basically how it works is this: I absolutely hate to see you hurt. You know what I said to Yuki when you two first started seeing each other? That if he ever made you cry, I'd make sure he'd live to regret it. And I meant it. I was ready to follow through on that after you were attacked because I thought it was Yuki's fault, and I was ready to do it again when I thought he was to blame for your accident. So when you come to me, crying because Yuki threw out out of his office or made you sleep on the couch or yelled at you for something, I want to fix it because it's little to me, but it's hurting you. And likewise, if something is hurting me, no matter how big it is, I don't want you to hurt because of it, because, let's face it, I'm a lot tougher than you are when it comes to emotional trauma."

"Th-thank you..." was all that Shuichi could say.

"Hey, you said it yourself: we're best friends. Best friends stick their necks out for each other. If it wasn't for you I'd have quit guitar. Hell, I wouldn't be a rock star in the first place. You scratch my back, I scratch your back. We're the perfect team."

Hiro suddenly picked up one of Ryuuichi's markers and leaned over Shuichi's right leg cast. "Speaking of which, best friends sign each other's casts, if I'm not mistaken. Just hope I can find the room, since Sakuma-san pretty much took them both over with his artwork..."

Just as he was signing his name, Yuki came back into the room. He looked at the two men and sighed. "All right, Nakano, what the hell are you doing to him?"

"Signing his cast," Hiro said. He finished and offered Yuki the marker. Yuki didn't take it, so he capped it and put it back in the package.

"Just keep in mind he's not yours," Yuki said gruffly as he turned on his computer.

Hiro grinned smugly. "Actually, Yuki, you forget he was mine loooong before he was yours."

Touma walked into the room then, still smiling though he looked tired. He looked at Shuichi and smiled more. "Shindou-san, we need to get you a wheelchair so you can come down and see them. They are the most beautiful babies you'll ever see. Ryuuichi-san and Mr. K are still downstairs admiring them."

Shuichi smiled and leaned back into his pillows. Well, things might be different now, but it sure was great to be back....

~Curtain falls~

~End of Act 7~

Goo's Note- No, that's not it. I have a prologue planned, too. I don't know when I'll get to it, though, because this Thursday I get to see Meat Loaf live in concert. *Jumps up and down excitedly, then clears throat and regains composure.* Anyway, there's the last real act of the musical. Enjoy.


End file.
